Setting is a crucial part of any story. A while ago, I said it could be handled essentially as a character—for example, by using it to focus on the senses and build emotion. But you can also make your story placement meaningful, not just convenient. You want your setting to be more than a backdrop for events.
Many well-known writers have such distinctive writing styles that after reading a few paragraphs, you can identify a book’s author without seeing the cover. In fact, some writers have such distinctive voices that readers pick up their books solely because a particular name is on it,
Let’s say that you’ve written the first draft of your novel, and maybe you’ve even checked to see that all your turning points, your scenes and sequels, are where they’re supposed to be.
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, editor, and novelist, Kay Keppler, as she shares with us “Use Structure to Build Emotion!” Enjoy!
When you reach for a favorite book, the one you’ve already read, or perhaps read multiple times, what draws you to that story? Sometimes it’s the plot, but usually it’s the characters you remember.
Let’s welcome back monthly columnist, editor, and novelist, Kay Keppler, as she shares with us “Love Your Bad Guys!” 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.
Most writers, sooner or later, will hit the problem of the Sagging Middle. The story pacing slows—the plot might even bore you a little bit now—and you don’t know what to do about it.
You’ve finished your book. After all the hard work, you need a great title. But writing a title is a lot different from writing a full-length novel or even a short story. Writing a title takes creativity, but it isn’t storytelling—it’s marketing. Your potential readers see a title before they see anything in chapter one, and it has to hook them. Companies spend fortunes on finding the right name for new products—names that will resonate with consumers—and so should you.
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:
The goal for every writer has to be writing a book so compelling that readers can’t put it down. Using foreshadowing can help you create that kind of suspense, because it hints at what comes later and motivates the reader to find out what that drama or secret is. Foreshadowing can also convey information that helps readers understand future events.
Many writers, when they sit down to work, look with anxiety or stress at that blank page. Or they’re afraid to send their work out—to editors or publishers—or even for critique. Others are afraid they won’t sell. Or if they have sold, that they won’t sell again.
A writer I know recently asked for song ideas to build her writing playlist—the music she’d play while she worked on her latest WIP, a fantasy adventure tale. She wanted songs that would speak to the acts of the book—her heroine on a mission, in trouble, fighting her way out, and resolving her issues. I thought of “I Need a Hero,” sung by Bonnie Tyler, who asks for a street-wise Hercules.
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