How to incorporate the five senses into your writing. See, taste, touch, smell, hear. I wrote these words on a sticky note and put it on my writing desk until I absorbed them. The five senses are how we perceive the world, and through them writers translate experience to a reader. Without the senses, you cannot transmit the […]
I enjoy working with authors no matter how they approach the task of writing, whether it’s with bubbly joy and passion or steely grit and determination-or, more typically, a combination of both. In any case, these authors have done something that many other wishful writers have only talked and/or daydreamed about: they finished a book, […]
Think back to Creative Writing 101, the class where an actual Important Writer came to read-a guy with elbow patches and a college-press story collection with cover art that looked pretty pro in the days predating Fiverr artists and rampant Photoshop skills. The class...
Are you a pantser or a plotter/planner? If you’re a novelist and you’ve done even a little bit of reading about the craft of fiction, then you’ve likely come across the terms “pantser” and “plotter,” which is also called “planner.” Simply put, if someone asks which kind of fiction writer you are, she or he […]
In the last few years, superhero fiction has become extremely popular among writers not associated with the traditional publishing scene-and personally, I rather enjoy this trend. I’m not sure why. I never grew up reading superhero comic books, though when I was in grad school, I borrowed my roommate’s, and became a Grimjack, Firestorm, and […]
Recently I’ve seen a number of manuscripts by talented new writers who are falling into a trap. Writers are overcomplicating their novels, often by choosing unnecessarily experimental narrative techniques, or by deliberately leaving out important plot information. The choices range from switching, seemingly randomly, between past and present tense or first and third person POV, […]
Say your novel-to-be is about rock and roll-that much is clear-and you’re ready to outline. Or rather, ready or not, you need to outline. You sit down to your spreadsheet or blank Word doc, your head abuzz with story elements and impressions: the thudding loudness and in-your-faceness of rock’s heyday; some patchy character profiles; a […]
Say your novel-to-be is about rock and roll-that much is clear-and you’re ready to outline. Or rather, ready or not, you need to outline. You sit down to your spreadsheet or blank Word doc, your head abuzz with story elements and impressions: the thudding loudness and in-your-faceness of rock’s heyday; some patchy character profiles; a […]
Part 1: Avoid Long Phrases Separating Subject from Predicate Subject “¦ Predicate “¦ Appositive “¦ For those of you who are already cringing at the thought of an entire article focused on Grammar 101, take a deep breath and relax. This isn’t about grammar so much as good writing that allows readers to more easily […]
You’ve heard you need to grab your reader’s attention with a compelling first page, but often I see writers who start their novel with action, but not tension. The difference is perhaps subtle, but very real. Tension is created when the reader sees a character grappling with specific and relatable problems, while action without context […]
A novel prologue can help or harm. This article answers the “what is a prologue?” question and may help you decide whether or not to write a prologue.
If you’re writing a children’s book, it pays to be familiar with how publishers classify them. Publishers generally assign age groups for readers of various formats as set out in the following list.