Love Your Bad Guys by Kay Keppler
Let’s welcome back monthly columnist, editor, and novelist, Kay Keppler, as she shares with us “Love Your Bad Guys!” Enjoy!
Tagged: novelist
Get More from Your Settings by Kay Keppler
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.
Q&A with Hugh Tipping
Please welcome Hugh Tipping to our Featured Q&A series at Writer’s Fun Zone. If you’d like to be considered for an interview, check out our guidelines here.
Lift a Sagging Middle with “What If?” by Kay Keppler
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.
Your Book in Five Words or Less: Your Title by Kay Keppler
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.
Enrich Your Story with Foreshadowing by Kay Keppler
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.
How Do You Feel? by Kay Keppler
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.
Q&A with Dave M. Strom
I, Dave M. Strom, am a technical writer, comic book geek, and budding novelist and short story writer. So far, I specialize in bringing to life Holly Hansson, the Super(wo)man who’d rather be Clark Kent. She’s a writer also.
Bringing History to Life by Merry Farmer
History is not dull or dry. It is full of all the passion and heroism of the stories we hear on the news every day. Politics were just as vicious back then and love was just as tender.
Make Massive Book Sales By Helping A Good Cause
Many authors think life is a riddle. And they’re right. They also think that making a lot of money from a novel is difficult. That’s also true. But there are simple ways to make...
#1 Tip to Finishing Your Page-Turning Novel
In this second video, “The 3 Keys to Finish Your Novel,” Ezra shows how to solve the true problem of finishing your novel. If you’re curious to get your novel done by 2012 surrounded...
CRAFT: The Author’s Voice — Subjective versus Objective
Welcome to the weekly series on craft. We authors need to write excellent books for our readers to enjoy. This week’s guest author on craft, Kat Duncan, shares about author’s voice. Check out her...
Who Loves Xena Warrior Princess? I Do!
I just love Xena’s joy, glee and grit. I love her toughness, and also her sad heart. Love Gabrielle and the jester too. Little know fact: the jester in Xena inspired my character, Jaxter,...
Wild Woman Archetype: Who is Baba Yaga?
Turns out Baba Yaga is more popular in the arts than I realized! She’s an old witch in Slavic and Russian folk tales. I associate here with these motifs: * Fire * A house that runs on chicken legs * She eats maidens…
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