Hooking that reader with an intriguing opening is critical, especially if that reader is unfamiliar with your work. Many books have well-established ways of opening. Authors, like chess masters, can choose familiar opening gambits that help readers feel comfortable while establishing the story, stirring interest, and starting the action. You might want to think about launching your story with one of these familiar types of openings.
As in a game, readers want to know what’s at stake. Is it life? Love? Friendship? Money? The ranch? The locket? Readers have to know what your hero or heroine will gain or lose in the story
When writers talk about plot and character, they often reference movies or TV shows. That’s because film provides a visual — an extra dimension that helps viewers understand the story.
As we discussed the story problems, it became more clear that (at least some of) my problems stemmed from my heroine’s being too action-oriented and not detail-oriented enough. She was acting like a CIA clandestine operator, not a desk jockey bound by reports.
Point of view shapes the relationship among writer, characters, and reader, and it’s defined and expressed in terms of person, omniscience, narrative voice, tone, authorial distance, and reliability.
The end of the year for many people is a time of looking back and reflecting, a time to sum things up and decide where we’ve been and where we want to go.
If you write any kind of commercial fiction, conflict is required. Nobody wants to read a story about happy people who have great jobs, raise wonderful children, do meaningful volunteer work, and lose all the weight they gain after the holidays.
We all have goals, especially on January 1. When the new year rolls around, everybody wants to lose weight, save more money, and go to the gym more often. Eighty percent of all people make those goals every year because we want to be healthier, happier, and more secure.
Creativity Tools and Tips / Writing Tips
by Beth Barany · Published September 19, 2013 · Last modified September 4, 2013
Let’s welcome back Kay Keppler for another month with Writer’s Fun Zone! In today’s article, Kay discusses the importance of giving your characters tough goals to achieve, and the impact tough goals have on...
Complaining is bad for your writing. Said Kay Keppler. By way of Jennifer Cruisie. She says it upsets creativity: “The girls in the basement.” So as some people say, “Shut up and write.” I...
To keep your characters and your narration distinct, you need to be particularly aware of sentence and paragraph structure. Variation is critical.
Your protagonist can be only as strong as the antagonist who engages that character in struggle.
Problems like these are problems of proportion. You want to give readers enough detail and discussion to hold their interest, but you don’t want to give more detail than the scene requires.
Guest Columnists / Writing Tips
by Beth Barany · Published February 21, 2013 · Last modified February 18, 2013
We’ve all heard the expression, “He can’t see the forest for the trees.” That means that someone can’t see the big picture because he’s too focused on details. Writers, however, have the opposite problem.
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