Straight talk from the sisters about blood, sweat and ink
I read a lot. And since I’m a writer, reading isn’t just entertainment, it’s instructional. I learn from every book, whether good, bad or middling. Because of this, I’ve decided to start a blog series called “Reading For Writers 101” about all the writerly things one can learn from reading books. Today’s lesson: Book Jackets …
Continue reading “Reading For Writers 101: What Book Jackets Teach About A Story’s “Hook””
The other day I started thinking about my writing. Questioning the books I admire, and the writers who have influenced me. As with most writers, the experiences that shaped me came from many different people and places, including many of my old teachers. Oddly, some of my best mentors were not English or literature teachers …
Continue reading “What I Learned About Writing From Cookies: A True Story!”
‘Tis the holiday season, which means you will probably find yourself at lots of social functions making small talk. This will inevitably lead to someone asking what your book is about. And you’ll hesitate, wondering how to sum up the intricate plot, the fantastical world, and the character’s monumental journey in less than an hour, …
Continue reading “How to Write a Logline”
National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) takes place every November. As most of you know, the goal is to compose a first draft of your novel, roughly 50,000 words during the 30 days. It works out to be a doable 1,667 words a day, but only if you sit down and write that chunk every day. …
Continue reading “Lessons From The NaNoWriMo Trenches”
My last post about Theme turned out to be a little contentious. Not everyone agreed with the definition, which isn’t surprising considering we were all taught in English class that theme is a) usually distilled down to one word, like “salvation” or “death”, and b) open to interpretation. This approach to theme works in a …
Continue reading “The Controlling Idea – Not Your English Teacher’s Theme”
As I mentioned in my last post, Pace, Friend or Foe, one great way to drive a novel’s pace and keep people reading, is to end your chapters with a cliffhanger. Most people are familiar with the cliffhanger at the end of a novel (encouraging you to buy the next book in the series) or …
Continue reading “8 Ways to End a Chapter With a Cliffhanger”
Theme is like a truffle – it has to be there, just under the surface, but one must snort through much mud to unearth it. A most unpleasant process I’ve been stuck in for the last few months. So why do I keep at it? Won’t the theme of my book just magically appear once …
Continue reading “Does Your Novel Have a Theme with a Capital “T”?”
About a year ago I sat down at a table with a large number of authors, some published, some not. We talked about everything, our writing successes, hopes, and failures. Toward the end of the meal, someone hit on a subject that proved a hot button for many of us. The topic in question regarded …
Continue reading “Pace, Friend or Foe?”
Before I explain what a B-Story is and why it’s crucial, here’s a list of what it is not: Comic relief that is inconsequential to the main story. A side plot that has nothing to do with your hero. A tacked-on love story to appease those who say YA needs a love triangle. These are …
Continue reading “What’s a B-Story? And Why That Love Triangle Doesn’t Cut It”
Sometimes the pudding in the mix is yummy. Like in a cake. But in a novel, the pudding is the enemy. It’s that soggy center section of a novel, and it’s a problem that can take many forms. It’s the whipped up middle, a light fluffy mousse of writing, where the author whisks the same …
Continue reading “The Pudding in the Mix, The Gooey Center of a Novel”