Where Do Story Ideas Come From?
“So where do you get your story ideas?” My old friend’s question stumped me. Recently she had begun writing short stories based closely on her own experiences, and she’d just finished reading my story collection, This Far Isn’t Far Enough. An army grunt in occupied German after World War II; a failed actor caring for […]
Heighten Tension by Raising the Stakes
If you heighten tension, you can transform a good book into a book readers can’t put down. That’s because we’re hardwired for danger. We register a threat when we see a shadow on a sidewalk. If a dog lunges toward a fence, we jump back. If our spouse tells us he’s having an affair, we […]
Literary Magazines: Insider Tips On Getting Published and Dealing With Rejectiion
I’ve met many writers so focused on their novels that they’ve never explored the world of literary magazines. Did you know that some literary magazines accept novel chapters? Maybe you could convert one of your chapters into a story. When you’re bogged down in a longer work, seeing your name in print will definitely give […]
Tension: Two Easy Ways to Pack Tension in a Scene
Tension is a sensation in the body. Fish, reptiles, birds, and mammals are hardwired to be on the alert. Possums play possum. An elk herd circles the calves. Octopi retreat into grottoes. Gorillas pound their chests. And, as for humans, what signs of danger raise our hackles? When we see movement out of the corner […]
Writing Models: How Close Study of Top-Notch Writers Can Up Your Game
Writing models can help you turn a so-so draft into a work of art. In the old days, before bookcases filled with how-to books that made the act of writing seem simpler than it ever is, aspiring writers learned the craft by closely studying the work of other writers. In 1971, after the death of […]
Journalism vs. Fiction: What’s the Difference?
What’s the difference between journalism and fiction, and why should you care? Well, if you’re a writer in this day and age, you’re likely to do more than one kind of writing. Long-form journalism often pays. Fiction rarely does. Or, at least, it can take time for people to find you and buy your books. […]
Do Women Writers Face an Uphill Battle? How Women’s Writing Communities Can Help
You’d think that in this day and age, women writers would have it made. After all, women buy more books than men. At writing conferences I’ve attended, women far outnumber men. Whether we’ve devoted our lives to our careers or families, I sense in women writers a pent up desire to explore their creativity. But, […]
Publishing Myths I Wish I’d Known | 10 Misconceptions About Writing and Selling Books
Which publishing myths cloud your vision? By “publishing myths” I mean misconceptions about the world of publishing today. To succeed as a writer, you must write a great book. To succeed as an author (meaning you intend to have a career writing more books) you must educate yourself about the marketplace of books. Publishing is an […]
Syntax and Sentences: How to Make Your Story Sing
Syntax is the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences. The cumulative goal of sentences in fiction should be to please the reader’s inner ear. If you can improve your ability to shape sentences, your writing will be give readers greater pleasure. Why is that? Because readers “read” with an inner ear. The voice […]
Fine-Tune Your Storytelling Voice and Make Your Book Stand Out from the Crowd
Finding the right storytelling voice has launched the career of many a novelist. In this post I’m going to talk about how to discover where your voice is strongest and how you can build from there. In a previous post, I provided a word cloud so that you could begin thinking about voice. Even with that […]
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