Straight talk from the sisters about blood, sweat and ink
The technique of breaking the fourth wall generally applies to plays, TV shows and movies. It means that a character talked directly to the audience. The term originated from the idea that a theater stage is made up of three solid walls, the fourth wall is invisible. The audience looks past this last wall like …
Continue reading “Pros & Cons of Breaking the Fourth Wall”
We’re running retro-posts for Robin while she’s moving into her new house. Hurry back, Robin, we miss you! The ability to mass produce books gave birth to the popular novel, the Bronte Sisters, George Sand and perhaps one of the best-loved novelists of all time, Jane Austen. Since Austen’s first book was released over two centuries …
Continue reading “Retro Robin: You Are Mistaken, Mr. Darcy: How to Use Literature to Build Your Fiction Vocabulary”
I should start calling this the “Spoilers” series, because if you haven’t read CODE NAME VERITY by Elizabeth Wein or DANGEROUS GIRLS by Abby MacDonald, stop reading this post right now. Heck, I’m not even going to tell you the real topic of discussion until you read those books. Go! Did you read them? Okay, …
Continue reading “Reading for Writers 101: Narrators”
The topic of Point of View came up among The Sisters this week and I decided to take a closer look at this important literary device. Point of view is the lens through which the writer (or the narrator voice) tells the story. Think of it as the lens in a movie camera, standing back …
Continue reading “Point of View: When Your Voice is Not Your Own”
A while back, I touched on voice and I thought I might explore this essential writing element more fully. I did a little hunting and decided, in terms of creative writing, voice has two meanings by most standards: the author’s style, conveying her attitudes, personality, and the quality that makes her writing unique; and characteristic …
Continue reading “Voice: Feel Me Hear Me”
As a screenwriter, I had no choice but to learn a thing or fifty about writing dialogue. Scripts are 50% dialogue. The other half is physical action. That’s it. There are no other ways to express the story in a screenplay – no inner monologues, no poetic descriptions, and no narrated explanations. Only dialogue and …
Continue reading “Screenwriter Tips for Novelists: Writing Dialogue”
I have a new crit partner who just happens to be a line editor and might be a reincarnation of my dreaded high school English teacher, Mrs. Howard, although I’ve never actually met him in person. Mrs. Howard resembled a bag lady and according to urban legend she apparently wound up as one. A ragged …
Continue reading “He Said What? Direct vs. Indirect Speech”
Writing dialogue is the heart of my writing. A scene always takes shape in my mind with two or more people having a conversation. I put the dialogue to paper and then add the physical setting, background details, emotions, inner monologue and body language. It’s the only way I know how to write. As I’ve …
Continue reading “He Said, She Said: Writing Dialogue”
If you’re like me, you spend the whole day talking. Sometimes, when the Fates smile, I’m talking with my keyboard, and what I have to say requires access to a time traveler, for I am a historical writer. All fiction has a unique set of challenges, but I find the creation of believable period language …
Continue reading “What Doth it Profit Thee? Building Historical Vocabulary”