For readers of genre fiction, emotion is everything. Mystery readers are looking for suspense. Romance readers are looking for love on the page. And if you don’t generate those emotions in your readers, you’ve failed as a novelist.
Let’s welcome back monthly columnist Nevada McPherson as she shares with us “Bend Your Mind, Stretch Your Imagination!” Enjoy!
Let’s welcome back monthly columnist Chloe Adler as she shares with us “The Editing Process. Finding What Works for You?” Enjoy!
I’m just going to give a few quick tips on enhancing your voice by sharpening your word choice.
Please welcome guest author, Alicia Rasley as she shares with us “13 Prime Principles of Plot.” Enjoy!
Let’s welcome back monthly columnist Chloe Adler as she shares with us “Write “Who You Know” – Turning Real-Life Meanies into your Book’s Antagonists” Enjoy!
Have you ever picked up a book and read back cover copy that sent shivers down your spine? You know what I mean: stories located in a peaceful country garden filled with sweetpeas and butterflies, or the brooding castle that bristles with medieval weaponry—these are the settings that tell you what adventures lie in store.
Arguably, the most popular episode of the 1950’s sitcom “I Love Lucy” was the episode “Job Switching” in which friends Lucy and Ethel took a job in a candy factory. In that episode’s celebrated scene, they had to hand wrap individual chocolates moving along a conveyor belt into a packing room. They were able to keep up until the belt sped up resulting in a hilarious scramble to prevent any unwrapped candies from getting by.
Greetings! Hope your summer reading and writing projects are coming along nicely. If you’ve been busy with other summer activities you’ve still got a few weeks to read a novel or two or to pen a rough draft before fall arrives. I’ve personally been in the process of moving into a new apartment and am only now getting to some projects I’ve been planning.
People talk to each other all the time, so it seems as though writing dialogue should be simple. But many writers trip up over making dialogue sound natural. Here’s a sample of something I see frequently when I’m editing manuscripts:
Ask me about a favorite book – and I’ll describe the heroine.
Let’s welcome back monthly columnist Raina Schell as she shares with us “Getting into the Head of Your Antagonists.”
All fiction genres have plots. A story needs a story-line, something that pushes the characters from page one to the end. When we look at a mystery, we want to see how the main character is going to solve the mystery and save themselves and probably their lover. In romance, the plot HAS to be driven by the romantic relationship of the hero and heroine and by the turning points in their romantic relationship.
As Halloween nears, I consider the origins of the holiday. Many scholars believe the idea of wearing masks originated in the fear of lost souls roaming the earth this time of year, when the veil between living and dead thins and the world grows darker. The masks allowed revelers to imitate or hide from their fearful foes.
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Beth Barany helps authors get their books completed and out into the world, into the hands of their readers.
Creativity Coach for Writers, NLP Master Practitioner, and Master Teacher, Beth Barany has been there and knows how hard it can be to take your idea and turn it into a real book, that people will actually be interested, and even yearning, to read.
She walks the talk, as her clients like to say. She is the author of the 2012 award-winning young adult fantasy novel Henrietta The Dragon Slayer, as well as the author of the bestselling nonfiction books for authors and aspiring authors.
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