Straight talk from the sisters about blood, sweat and ink
Last June, I started a ghost story for Camp NaNoWriMo. I really liked this idea. I’d set it in a historical period (the Gilded Age) which I know well. I’d selected a location I loved working with (Newport, RI) but for some reason the story wouldn’t gel. I had a beatsheet and an expanded outline …
Continue reading “Writer Struggles: 6 Steps to Get Unstuck”
Kat, the protagonist (portrayed by Julia Stiles) in the film 10 Things I Hate About You, is not a likable character. Nor does she strive to be likable. It’s more the reverse with her; she’s intentionally rude, domineering, and opinionated. Since the film is based on The Taming of the Shrew, making her a bit …
Continue reading “10 Things I (Don’t) Hate About You”
Love it or hate it, the new Amazon Kindle Unlimited just made it easier for avid readers to sample a huge number of books while paying a fraction of the total cover price. The new program will give subscribers access to over 600,000 titles, many of them Indies, but also some big name authors. …
Continue reading “Could Your Book Make the 10% Mark?”
The other evening I was watching Scandal. Admittedly I came late to the party, missing the first season, then watching it on demand and jumping into season two enthusiastically. But the other night I very nearly turned it off. Aside from the constant snarl on Olivia’s face—which irritates me to no end—the relentless arguing, fighting …
Continue reading “Creating Tension: Can There Be Too Much Conflict in a Story?”
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”
We’ve all had this experience, we hear about a new book, movie or TV show and it resonates with us. We know we’re going to love it. We count down the days to the release. During the waiting agony, we talk the ears off anyone who stands still long enough, eagerness dripping from every gushing …
Continue reading “Character Chemistry: 6 Dos and Don’ts for Getting a Group Together.”
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”
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?”
2013 has turned out to be a really bad year for me, physically that is. First, I broke my left ankle and then a few months later broke the right. Perhaps a little investigation into bone density is in order? The first one wasn’t so bad because after six weeks of no-weight bearing I could …
Continue reading “The Stink of Blue Jasmine: Writing the Protagonist”