Anton Chekhov | How Many Characters Should A Story Have?
Anton Chekhov’s vivid characters live in our imaginations to this day. One of my favorites is “Lady With the Pet Dog,” also translated as “Lady With the Little Dog.” If you’ve never read his stories, or haven’t read them in a long time, here’s a site with audio recordings of them. Sit with the characters, as […]
How To Set Up A Critique Group | 5 Cardinal Rules
All writers get butterflies when they submit works-in-progress to a critique group. No matter how experienced or professional we might pretend to be, we writers have thin skins. A critique group can do a lot of good. It can help a writer identify one-dimensional characters and boring plots. But, writing groups can also do a […]
Storyboard Your Novel | A Road Map To The Climax
In Hollywood a storyboard helps directors plan their projects. Storyboards provide a quick and easy way to visualize the ups and downs of the plot. Writers working on scripts use storyboards to make sure the “beats” (key story developments) fall where they should. Fiction writers can use a storyboard to imagine where a story needs […]
Web Tools | A New Author’s Guide To 3 Simple Book-Launch Apps
Web tools are a huge help to new authors, especially those who are late-life writers. We seniors didn’t grow up with the internet and social media, and frankly, it can all be a bit daunting. You say you’d rather be writing than dealing with marketing issues? Well, me, too! But, you can’t expect readers to […]
Literary Prize Long List | Man Booker Finalists
If there were one literary prize I would be honored to win, it’s the Man Booker Prize. What’s wonderful about the long-list is that it showcases the diversity and vitality of literary fiction. I was happy to discover some names I recognize among the many I don’t. Britain’s The Guardian published this list of finalists to […]
Does A Plot Outline Stifle Creativity Or Enhance It?
A plot outline can either stifle creativity or bring a novel’s plot into sharper focus. I don’t outline before I begin a novel, but when I am revising, an outline helps me make decisions about which scenes to keep and which to throw out. The scenes to keep are those that have tension, meaning scenes […]
Story Arc | A Simple Way to Understand Plot
A story arc is the chain on which the pearls of your novel are strung. You can think of story arc as the things that happen—the scenes or episodes—from the beginning of the novel to its conclusion. The story arc—also called a narrative arc—is the same thing as plot. Some writers are naturals when it […]
What Are Half-Scenes?
Half-scenes are a great way to cover a lot of ground in a short time. Consider using half-scenes when you want to get to your next big scene, when you need to trim the story’s word count, or when you’re taking a walk down Memory Lane. In my post explaining the difference between scene and […]
Writing Practice | Your Number One Goal
A daily writing practice can turn the dream of becoming a published author into a reality. As author Jean Hegland says, “If you can brush your teeth, you can write a book.” In this post, I’m going to show you how to set up a writing practice. A Writing Practice Is Like Any Other Habit […]
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