Writing
How to Craft a Catchy Title
Shutta Crum: Titles are so important. After noticing the cover and spine art, what’s the next thing a reader looks at? Maybe the author’s name, but certainly, the title. It’s got to catch the eye of the beholder. Which would you rather read: Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss or When to Use the Oxford Comma? Come on, unless you’re a total punctuation nerd, you’ll head toward Eats, Shoots and Leaves. It’s a grabber. We don’t know if someone is shooting a gun—or what’s happening. There’s mystery and fun wrapped up in a nice short title that everyone can remember. (If you don’t notice the subtitle.) It’s a superb book title. More from Shutta Crum in the Florida Writers Association.
Free title generator powered by Semrush and AI.
The art of the mini sales pitch: how to subtitle your book so people will read it. Lit Hub.
How to write an elevator pitch [free pitch template]. No Film School.
Writing Coach Clark Shares Tips on Writing, Storytelling at Ringling
Mark Mathes: Roy Peter Clark shared some writing tips at Ringling College as part of the Sarasota Library first-ever Off the Page program. He’s the dean of writing coaches in Florida at Poynters Institute in St. Pete and newsrooms around the country. I’ve shared his writing tips with reporters and editors in my newsrooms since 1980. Mark's notes.
God and Darwin gave us permission to tell stories or make them up.
Reading is a time travel.
When interviewing, get the name of the dog. Tampa Bay Times city editor Mike Foley always told reporters: don’t come back without the name of the dog. Think particularity. My obit will say he urged writers to get the name of the dog, says Clark.
How to Write About Public Events, from Writing Coach Clark
Here’s a guide to clear writing about tangled public events, from writing coach Roy Peter Clark of the Poynter Institute, St. Pete. Nieman Storyboard
Clark is back next month with "Tell It Like It Is: A Guide to Clear and Honest Writing." This one collects and expands on his tried-and-true guidance with the purpose of helping today's journalists—he includes all who do what he calls "public writing"—who must make sense of complex information, senseless disinformation, historical context and future implications — all with dizzying speed. Freelance science journalist and writing teacher Katharine Gammon peels out the top takeaways from Clark's new book. As she notes, much of the wisdom is repurposed from his earlier books, but comes with a new focus, relevant examples and Clark's signature engaging style.
How to write a good story in 800 words or less, by writing coach Roy Peter Clark. Poynter.
The world is full of confusion. A new book by Roy Peter Clark helps writers make sense of it. Poynter.
A Whimsical Request Inspired Some Essential Writing Tools
Roy Peter Clark: Early last October I received a small package from England, which looked most interesting even before I opened it. The envelope celebrated “Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.” When I flipped it over, it was sealed with a Mick Jagger stamp and hand-written note: “He also can’t get no satisfaction….”
He was asking, in essence, that I write him a mini-book, a personal anthology of my thoughts on writing. At first, I was put off by the brashness of the request. But then I thought, why the hell not? More and more, it seems to me, what a writer remembers is often the most important.
I would select my favorite bits of advice, not just from the new book, but from the six that preceded it — the kind of practical strategies that work best in my coaching and teaching. Clark's commentary.
Clark is on the faculty at Poynter Institute, St. Petersburg.
Top Interview Tips from the Reporters Behind the Film She Said
What did stick for me in watching the film She Said was how well it demonstrated what I believe is the most fundamental tool of journalism: Interviewing, says Jacqui Banaszynski, editor of Nieman Storyboard. Tips here.
But what I know for sure is that, were I still teaching college journalism, I would make this movie a must-watch. Again and again, at least as the script was written, Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey practiced the most basic tenets of interviewing:
Be upfront about your position and purpose.
Be aware of the power dynamic at work. Don't cede power to the powerful; give some to those without any.
Never promise what you can't deliver.
Verify details with specific questions.
Seek the deeper story with open-ended questions.
Listen with attention and empathy (not to be confused with therapy or biased sympathy).
Ask follow-up questions to ensure clarity and understanding.
Ask more follow-up questions to dig deeper.
Ask even more follow-up questions.
Shift to other or smaller questions when you hit a roadblock.
And let silence work for you.
CRAFT
In Black History Month, Consider Florida Pioneer, Author James Johnson
Craig Pittman: February is Black History Month, so I want to tell you about some important Black Florida men and women. First one on my list: James Weldon Johnson, a brilliant Jacksonville native who was principal of a school for Black children and the first Black member of the Florida Bar. He was also a diplomat, a poet (God's Trombones) and novelist (The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man). He even became the executive secretary of the NAACP, where he led a campaign to stamp out lynching (a violent fate for many Black men that he narrowly avoided in Jacksonville). But his most enduring achievement was writing, with his brother, "Lift Every Voice and Sing," sometimes known as "The Black National Anthem."
Picture Books Are Jewels in the Literature World, All in 500 Words
Picture books are jewels in the world of literature; artistic, fun, informative, and full of heart-shine. One important aspect is that they are short, writes Shutta Crum for the Florida Writers Association. Many publishers insist on less than 500 words. Yet they must have characterization, plot, setting, theme, and mood—all the same things a 90,000-word novel has. The other thing they must do is grab and retain the interest of young minds. Those minds are racing at phenomenal speed. It’s a tricky business to get that young reader.
How to Use Color in Your Writing
The world you create for your characters is bound to be full of color—it’s everywhere you and your character(s) look. Sight is a powerful sense, so you want to make the most of it, writes Anne Hawkinson for the Florida Writers Association. As a writer, the tendency might lean toward using your favorite color, simply naming what your character sees (the green tree), and move on with the rest of the story’s narrative. Hang on! Don’t let the power of color fade away into thin air! Let’s explore the influence that color has in a story (and to make things a bit more challenging for me, I’m not going to use my favorite color—red).
//p
Podcast: How Setting Goals Helped Propel Author to Success
Marc Reklau used to work in a book printer watching thousands of books get made. It was only when he got fired after ten years that he decided to write his own eBooks, and has since passed seven figures in earnings. He attributes that success to the Self Publishing Formula courses, Launchpad and Ads for Authors. It was when he actually applied the same self-help strategies he wrote about in his books to his own writing business that he started seeing the life-changing effects he’d hoped for. But it hasn’t all been straight sailing. He pulled his books out of Kindle Unlimited because Amazon unexpectedly closed his account, and now publishes wide. Tune into this week’s episode of the Self Publishing Show to hear more from Marc, including how goal setting works, using positivity to encourage personal development, why some of his habit-based content is a recurring feature across different topics, and why authors shouldn’t overlook the Spanish-reading US market.
Writing Short Stories Can Help You Test Ideas for Your Novel
Writing short stories can help establish your credentials as a fiction writer. It will give you much-needed exposure to editors, literary agents, and readers. Some publications will even pay you for it. You know what else a short story can do for you? It can serve as a vehicle for experimentation when you’re writing a novel, writes author Cindy Fazzi in Writer's Digest.
Ten outstanding short stories to read in 2024. Longreads.
This LA flash-fiction star thinks novels are “saggy.” Her own debut proves her wrong. Los Angeles Times.
What's a writing style guide? Early in my writing career, I discovered a troubling truth about those arguments I’d had in my adolescence about spelling, commas, pronouns and other conundrums of the English language: No definitive tome rules over all of English. Read more from Dana Sitar.
Janet Fitch on writing with all the senses. Lit Hub.
Inviting nature onto the page. CrimeReads.
Defining the 12 character archetypes. No Film School.
Adam Plantinga on law enforcement, thrillers, and writing communities. CrimeReads.
How to write a memoir: Examples and a step-by-step guide. Writers.com
The most shocking first lines of mystery novels. BookRiot.
It's time to rewrite the rules of historical fiction. Esquire.
Older women make the best sleuths and spies (and criminals). CrimeReads.
Novels examining the true crime industry are a critical part of understanding its problems and popularity. From Kate Brody. CrimeReads.
My first thriller: Lisa Gardner. CrimeReads.
A celebration of reporters in cozy mysteries. CrimeReads.
Shop Talk: A year of writing advice and stories from the trenches. CrimeReads.
Sherlockian collaborations and the joys of fandom. CrimeReads.
Advice to Writers: Avoid the Spume of Too Much Info, from Meigs Glidewell
From member Meigs Glidewell: Authors Graham, Loh and Schmidt are members of a coalition, called the Friends of Attention. The group emerged from a symposium at the 2018 São Paulo Biennial that was supposed to be about art but, Graham said, “ended up becoming this super-intense conversation about attention and politics, about civic fragmentation and Cambridge Analytica and the pernicious effects of new ‘big data’ attentional regimes. We had folks there from Poland and Turkey and Hungary and the U.K. and, of course, the US. And there was a sense of mounting concern around these dynamics. A bunch of us threw our hats in the ring, and said, ‘Let’s try to do something here!’”
In their essay, the three authors now invite the rest of us to join the revolution against what they memorably call attention-fracking: “pumping vast quantities of high-pressure media content into our faces to force up a spume of the vaporous and intimate stuff called attention, which now trades on the open market.”
An ode to and newspaper stories newsprint on the screen. CrimeReads.
Fictionalizing real trauma as a means of healing. CrimeReads.
Why bother to write if no one is ever going to read it? Tony DuShane in FilmCourage.
Is the internet making writing better? The New Yorker.
Anna Quindlen wants you to get a good life. Publisher's Weekly.
The delightful encounters of historical crime fiction. CrimeReads.
(Don't) watch your tongue: why swearing is fun. Lit Hub.
The best and worst tropes in murder mysteries. BookRiot.
If the logline doesn’t work the story doesn’t work – Jen Grisanti. FilmCourage.
Ed Park on panoramic storytelling. Lit Hub.
Writing “Women of a Certain Age.” A roundtable on crafting older female characters in fiction. Lit Hub.
How Writing a Short Story Can Improve a Novel-in-Progress
Writing short stories can help establish your credentials as a fiction writer. It will give you much-needed exposure to editors, literary agents, and readers. Some publications will even pay you for it. You know what else a short story can do for you? It can serve as a vehicle for experimentation when you're writing a novel. Writer's Digest.
AP Style Quick Bites
Here are a few additional AP Style reminders to keep in your back pocket. They can be helpful whether or not they come up in relationship conversations.
Remember, the comma goes INSIDE the quote marks. "I don't like pumpkin spice," she said.
CYBER: Use it sparingly. In general, internet, digital, or a similar term is preferred, as in internet shopping or online security.
YEARS: When a phrase refers to a month and day within the current year, do not include the year: The hearing is scheduled for June 26.
B.C.: Either B.C. or B.C.E. (Before the Common Era) is acceptable in all references to a calendar year in the period before Christ. Rocky Parker's Beyond Bylines column.
You just found out your book was used to train AI. Now what? From the Authors Guild.
How to publish a poetry book from Reedsy.
What are editors looking for? From Penguin Random House.
Dictionary.com embraces “they,” adds hundreds of new words. Mashable.
There's banter for that: 4 elements to upgrading dialogue from sweet to sassy. Writer's Digest.
Eliza Clark: overcoming challenges to write the second book. Writer's Digest.
The rules of the game: how genre can illuminate theme. Lit Hub.
Why do writers use different pen names for genres? Book Riot.
Behind the science of writing good suspense. Writer's Digest.
Flip through what makes a cozy mystery? Flipboard.
Acting out a life: how to write novels about real people. Lit Hub.
10 incredible character arcs in fantasy series. Book Riot.
The secret to a great scene: SceneWriting’s 3 key principles for screenwriters. No Film School.
Every filmmaking form you'll ever need in 99 free templates. No Film School.
How to use Google Docs for beginners. USA Today video.
GrammarlyGO review: Is this the AI writing solution for you? Tech Radar.
Richard Ford: “I don’t read for comfort. Comfort I source elsewhere.” The Guardian.
Hop in: Richard Ford and Lorrie Moore offer unforgettable summer road trips. NPR.
What Is Urban Fantasy and How You Can Try this Growing Genre
Even if you don't regularly haunt the science fiction and fantasy section of your local bookstore, chances are you've crossed paths with the vibrant, ever-popular subgenre of urban fantasy. Not only is there frequently an urban fantasy or two on the New York Times bestseller list, but it's one of the most common types of fantasy to make its way to the big and small screen, according to Writer's Digest. How do you recognize a good urban fantasy when you see one, and if you want to try your hand at writing one, what's the basic recipe?
Fiction vs. Fantasy: What’s the difference? The Collector.
On the exponential difficulty of juggling many narrative voices. Lit Hub.
How to write a historical drama screenplay (free beat sheet template). No Film School.
Quiz: Can you match the horror novel to its opening lines? BookRiot.
Legendary writer Kurt Vonnegut cleverly explains how to write the 3 stories everyone loves. Upworthy.
How to Write a Book: 23 simple steps from a bestselling author Jerry Jenkins here.
27 dialogue mistakes. Film Courage.
How to build anticipation and tell the best stories. Fanfare.
Understanding scene types. Writer's Digest.
Five micro-edits to hook readers on your first page. Writers Helping Writers.
Google Docs' AI vs. Grammarly—Which is the better content checker? TechTimes.
Google Docs getting new AI-powered “Proofread.” 9 to 5 Google.
How to create mind maps in Google Docs. Make Use Of.
Google Search now has AI grammar check tool for mobile and desktop users: here's how to use it. Benzinga.
The not so fun side of being a book’s first reader. BookRiot.
Dear Reader: A brief history of book dedications. BookRiot.
A brief history of profanity on television. Mental Floss.
Booksellers are suddenly at the vanguard of the culture wars. Esquire.
How much does it cost to open a bookstore? BookRiot.
Internet Archive's digital library has been found in breach of copyright. The decision has some important implications. The Conversation.
The Internet Archive reaches an agreement with publishers in digital book-lending case. TechSpot.
A book is a book is a book—except when it’s an e-book. The Nation.
How to self-publish your e-book. New York Times.
In these thrillers, the setting becomes a pivotal character. CrimeReads.
How to write for a global audience. Writer's Relief.
Can your series characters evolve? Yes. Some tips on CrimeReads.
Creating historical fiction settings that bring the past to life. By Lisa Taylor for Fictionary.
Man vs. Supernatural. Types of Conflict and Examples. What a man vs the supernatural story is, writes Sherry Leclerc of Fictionary. Examples of man vs supernatural stories. The types of genres that include this type of conflict.
How to Create a Compelling Protagonist in Your Fiction
When writing fiction, we often focus on the plot, and our characters become vehicles for moving the narrative forward. However, if we want readers to become invested in the story, we need to create protagonists who will draw them in, writes Susan Koehler for the Florida Writers Association. So what are some concrete strategies for helping readers identify with our main characters and develop some sort of attachment? How can we be sure readers care about what happens to these fictional friends, and that they stick around to find out?
How to Raise the Stakes in Your Story
As writers, we know that the three basic elements of a fictional story are character, setting, and plot. We spend a lot of time planning and developing each. However, if we want to create a story that really captures readers, we need to be mindful of the stakes, writes Susan Koehler for the Florida Writers Association. When we talk about stakes, we’re referring to what might be gained or lost in the story. The higher the stakes, the more compelling the story. If the protagonist fails to achieve the goal, what will happen? Or in other words…What’s at stake?
When World Building, Do Your Basic Research Before Your First Draft
Ideally, you should conduct enough research to build a strong story world in your mind before you begin your draft, writes Polly Watt, an editor at Fictionary. Failure to do this may mean later halting mid-draft for further research, thus losing momentum. Or worse, you may reach the end of your manuscript and find the whole premise upon which your novel was founded falls apart. Carrying out essential story world research early on is important and necessary. Just don’t get distracted by details unrelated to your story. TIP: Write a story synopsis/overview before deep diving into research, to keep in mind what topics may/may not be relevant, so as to avoid falling into unnecessary research rabbit-holes.
How Dialogue Can Add Complexity, Irony and Emotion to Characters
Writing dialogue provides the subtext, irony, and complexity required for compelling characters and stories. Small words carry heavy loads, when skilfully handled, according to Polly Watt, editor at Fictionary. “There is only one plot: things are not what they seem.”—Jim Thompson. However, writing dialogue precisely and getting the words right is challenging. Let’s examine how to transform filler chat to fulfilling dialogue, starting with the basics. What is dialogue? Dialogue is the reported speech between two or more characters. In prose, it’s distinguished with apostrophes. When writing dialogue, Americans generally use “double” apostrophes, while Brits use ‘single’ ones. Dialogue has many purposes.
How to Hook Your Reader: 5 Tips
How to start your book is the most important decision you’ll need to make.
Why? Because no one’s going to read the next sentence (and the next one, and the next one) if they’re not captivated by the first one, writes Ariel Curry. This is such an important decision and skill to cultivate that fiction author Les Edgerton wrote an entire book about hooks, appropriately called Hooked: Write Fiction That Grabs Readers at Page One and Never Lets Them Go. In the book, Edgerton argues that authors need to put their best ideas and most intriguing words right at the beginning of a manuscript—especially when you’re pitching a book to agents or editors. Remember, he’s writing about fiction, but a lot of what he says applies to nonfiction, too.
The importance of a great opening in a novel. Writers Helping Writers
Describing a Character’s Emotions: Problems and Solutions
Characters are the heart of a story, but what really draws readers in is their emotions. Only…showing them isn’t always easy, is it, asks author and coach Angela Ackerman. Like us in the real world, characters will struggle. Life is never all cherries and diamonds; in fact, it’s our writerly job to make sure reality fish-slaps our characters with painful life lessons! Big or small, these psychologically difficult moments will cause them to retreat and protect themselves emotionally, believing if they do so, it will prevent them from feeling exposed and hurt in the future.
5 reasons you need to know your character’s emotional wound. DIY MFA
Writing mistakes writers make: basic character descriptions. Writer's Digest
J.A. Jance on creating believable characters. CrimeReads
A no-nonsense guide to getting back to writing after a (long) pause. Writing Cooperative
How do you write a "walk and talk" in a screenplay? No Film School
What’s the difference between Suspense and Mystery? CrimeReads
Tension and Conflict: They’re Different. Why You Need Both
I used to think tension and conflict were the same thing. I mean don't they go together, asks author and editor September Fawkes in commentary here. Well, a lot of the time they do, but it's entirely possible to have one without the other. They often go hand-in-hand, but they aren't the same thing. Conflict doesn't necessarily equal tension, and tension doesn't equal conflict. Lately I've been editing stories that seem to have so much conflict and no tension! I don't care about the conflicts. I don't care about the characters. Because there is no tension. Tension isn't the conflict.
How to Write an Adventure Story
What makes an adventure story work, and how do you write one? (Ideally, one that's good!) We're continuing our series on how to write each of the ten types of stories, writes David Stafford of The Write Practice. (By the way, we think there's really only nine types of stories, but nine is such a lame number for a list, so we cheated a bit. Adventure story tips.
Adventure book ideas: 20 prompts for survival and adventure stories. The Write Practice
An unreliable narrator can misdirect, add intrigue, and fundamentally change the trajectory and moral of your story. Tips by Lee Purcell of BookBaby.
How to find a charming narrator in a self-conscious age. Lit Hub
Szilvia Molnar on knowing when to kill your darlings. Lit Hub
Jennifer Rosner on crafting evocative historical fiction that honors the past. Lit Hub
Authors have been making things up again. Lit Hub
Writing in the South—about Southern women. CrimeReads
Espionage book recommendations from a former CIA spy. CrimeReads
How to Create Conflict & Tension in Your Characters
Most of us are looking for less conflict and tension in our lives. Just head to the nearest bookstore and check out the Self-Help section. But if you happen to be a writer (this probably pertains more to fiction), your characters NEED conflict and tension–a lot of it! If a story flows merrily along from beginning to end, there isn’t anything for your readers to invest in, no one to cheer for, and no feeling of resolution at the end. So, let’s look at some places to find conflict and tension and get them into your story, writes Anne Hawkinson in the Florida Writers Association.
What Is a Ghostwriter (And How Do I Become One)?
Curious about what ghostwriting is and whether or not it’s for you? Here’s a basic overview to give you insight into this prevalent—and sometimes controversial—side of the writing world. Story by Lee Purcell on BookBaby.
Mark Mathes outlines 10 things to do when creating dialogue and just as many to avoid. Having trouble with dialogue? Email me today.
A checklist on how to improve your dialogue from Mark.
Prince Harry's ghostwriter JR Moehringer defends book after criticism over inaccuracies. Sky.com
Does historical accuracy matter in historical fiction? CrimeReads commentary.
25 Sensory Writing Prompts to Improve Detail & Description
By most accounts, there are more than five senses. Some experts say there are seven, some as many as 20. But narrowing in on at least the five classical senses can lend a much-needed “sense” of detail to your writing. Here are five prompts for each of those five classic senses.
Want to put something in writing? Read these books. Getting words onto a page can be a painful process. Authors of all abilities, help is within reach. The New York Times.
Dialogue Is Not Conversation
Young writers often confuse dialogue with conversation, under the assumption that the closer you get to reality, the more convincing you sound. But dialogue is not conversation. Dialogue is a construct; it is artificial. It is much more efficient and believable than real conversation, writes John L'Heureux.
The best pro tactics for writing dialogue. From Screencraft.
An introduction to screenwriting. Free ebook from Screencraft.
John Grisham’s tips for popular fiction writing here.
7 newsletters that will improve your writing. Electric Literature.
Getting the investigative details right in cozy mysteries. Research tips from CrimeReads.
The Backlist: Revisiting Larry Brown’s ‘Father and Son’ with Ace Atkins, from CrimeReads.
Authors: Is there an animated book cover in your future? Commentary from the Book Publicist.
11 books about grammar, language, copyediting, from BuzzFeed News.
Against copyediting: Is it time to abolish the Department of Corrections? Commentary from Lit Hub.
Peter Ho Davies on the art of revision. Lit Hub.
The world through a copyeditor’s eyes. The Bulwark.
The book that put the (delightful) drudgery into espionage. Commentary from Esquire.
5+ Frame story examples from fiction & film (define + apply). Techniques from Smart Blogger.
Jerry Jenkins: How Conflict Drives Your Story
Jerry Jenkins: Successful writers and writing coaches know that conflict is the engine of fiction. Without it, your story will likely fall flat. That’s why in this article, I cover:
How to inject conflict
Five types of conflict that will add spice to your story
Making conflict believable so readers keep turning the pages.
3 Critical Questions as You Draft or Revise Your Novel
Before spending time on a story that doesn’t work, ensure you’ve addressed the critical questions of character, plot, goals and motivations, according to regular contributor Susan DeFreitas (@manzanitafire), an award-winning author, editor, and book coach. Tips here.
A Dozen Tips on How to Balance Backstory
How much backstory is too much backstory, and how do we know when we haven’t given enough? Here, bestselling author Jenna Kernan offers six dos and six don’ts of revealing critical backstory in a novel, in Writer's Digest.
How Authors Can Use ProfNet to Connect with Topic Experts
ProfNet connects journalists and authors with subject matter experts. For journalists, bloggers and other content creators, a quality expert can be the difference between a story that flops and a story that flies. Get the right sources that fit your exact needs, quickly and with no hassle. Sign up for ProfNet here. If you already have an account with PR Newswire for Journalists, you’re all set!
Plotter vs. Pantser: Why Not Use Some of Both Techniques?
When it comes to outlining vs. improvising, I’ve found that we all do the same steps in a different order, writes Ada Palmer on Tor.com. Many writing conversations (whether on panels, in blog posts, etc.) discuss a plotter vs. pantser binary, plotters being outliners, authors who plan work thoroughly before beginning, while the pantser, from the expression “fly by the seat of your pants” plunges into writing the beginning without a plan. I myself am certainly the plotter archetype, producing reams of notes, spreadsheets, and outlining a whole series before beginning Chapter 1, but the more I talk with friends who fit the pantser archetype, the clearer it becomes that the two methods are not as different as they’re made to seem. The real difference is not what we do, but what order we do it in, which steps we do before, which during, and which after drafting the text. I start with a long process of world building, with character creation as a part of it, in which nifty concepts and ideas for people shaped by them appear and connect together, forming a world and its tensions. Along this will develop a sense of mood or emotion, and the overall long stages of a story (mystery, then tragedy, then crisis, then hope, or crisis first, then mystery, then hope, then tragedy, etc.).
Story Elements: Cut or Keep?
There’s a lot of world-building that takes place when a writer embarks on the journey of creating a story. The plot guides the reader along the path from first to last sentence. Interwoven in the plot are sensory details that make the story come alive for the reader. What’s important to keep, and what can be set aside, writes asks Anne Hawkinson for the FWA.
6 story polishing tips from a writing contest judge, from Writer’s Digest here.
Dr. Seuss might be known for his children's books, but his political cartoons were next-level. Upworthy.
The long, winding, booby-trapped, and occasionally rewarding road to publication. Lit Hub.
Is Your Setting a Backdrop or Essential to the Events of the Plot?
When writing a story, you must decide if your setting is simply a backdrop for your plot or if your setting is essential to the events of the plot. If the latter is true, it may be helpful to start treating your plot the same way you would a human character within your story. How does that work? You have to start by analyzing all of the ways setting impacts your story. Here are a few ways to consider how setting can function as a character in fiction. Writers.com
How to Write with Muscular Metaphors
Shutta Crum: It’s about time we got around to talking about metaphors—the big sister/brother of similes. Metaphors have more muscle than similes, and less tact. Rather than using a qualifying word such as “like” or “as” between two comparisons, metaphors just blurt out that one thing is another. Sure, tougher sibling Metaphor can be a bit rude, but it does its job quickly and without a lot of extraneous verbiage. More commentary by Shutta in the Florida Writer newsletter.
Notes from a nonfiction writing workshop. Nieman Storyboard.
How to Take A Story Idea from Concept to Finished Novel
Writer’s Relief tips: Brainstorm and plan. From meticulous plotters to adventurous pantsers, every writer can benefit from brainstorming! Committing the little spark of your novel to paper or a computer document can help you determine if you have enough raw material to fully develop the idea. Of course, it’s okay to stray from your original concept if a better option presents itself as you write. More tips here.
What are thriller authors truly afraid of? CrimeReads.
The mystery of memory and identity. CrimeReads.
Check out what does it mean when someone says “that's just semantics'? How Stuff Works.
Author and teacher Pam Houston on developing a practice of noticing. The Creative Independent.
If a writer makes this mistake the story is over–Steve Douglas-Craig. Film Courage.
5 Steps to Writing Like Stephen King, the King of Horror. The Write Life.
How to Use a Decision Tree to Sharpen Your Stories
Writer’s Relief: Navigating a new story idea can feel like following a blank map. You’re not sure how to get where you’re going—or even where to start. Does your character walk or drive to reach a destination? Should the protagonist face an obstacle head-on or ignore it? Will a scoundrel get a punch in the nose or a kiss? Every choice you make carries weight, so each decision matters. The experts at Writer’s Relief know a writing technique that can help you whittle down your options and improve your focus: Create a decision tree.
Column: So you want to retire and become a writer? Here’s some inspiration from Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times.
Apple’s Journal app has arrived–here’s what’s good and bad. TechCrunch.
Newly minted Nobel Laureate Jon Fosse on the best writing advice he's ever received. Lit Hub.
Lou Berney on the immense appeal of ordinary characters. CrimeReads.
Know yourself better by writing what pops into your head. Scientific American.
How Writing a Short Story Can Improve a Novel-in-Progress
Writing short stories can help establish your credentials as a fiction writer. It will give you much-needed exposure to editors, literary agents, and readers. Some publications will even pay you for it. You know what else a short story can do for you? It can serve as a vehicle for experimentation when you're writing a novel. Writer's Digest.
AP Style Quick Bites
Here are a few additional AP Style reminders to keep in your back pocket. They can be helpful whether or not they come up in relationship conversations.
Remember, the comma goes INSIDE the quote marks. "I don't like pumpkin spice," she said.
CYBER: Use it sparingly. In general, internet, digital, or a similar term is preferred, as in internet shopping or online security.
YEARS: When a phrase refers to a month and day within the current year, do not include the year: The hearing is scheduled for June 26.
B.C.: Either B.C. or B.C.E. (Before the Common Era) is acceptable in all references to a calendar year in the period before Christ. Rocky Parker's Beyond Bylines column.
You just found out your book was used to train AI. Now what? From the Authors Guild.
How to publish a poetry book from Reedsy.
What are editors looking for? From Penguin Random House.
Dictionary.com embraces “they,” adds hundreds of new words. Mashable.
There's banter for that: 4 elements to upgrading dialogue from sweet to sassy. Writer's Digest.
Eliza Clark: overcoming challenges to write the second book. Writer's Digest.
The rules of the game: how genre can illuminate theme. Lit Hub.
Why do writers use different pen names for genres? Book Riot.
Behind the science of writing good suspense. Writer's Digest.
Flip through what makes a cozy mystery? Flipboard.
Acting out a life: how to write novels about real people. Lit Hub.
10 incredible character arcs in fantasy series. Book Riot.
The secret to a great scene: SceneWriting’s 3 key principles for screenwriters. No Film School.
Every filmmaking form you'll ever need in 99 free templates. No Film School.
How to use Google Docs for beginners. USA Today video.
GrammarlyGO review: Is this the AI writing solution for you? Tech Radar.
Richard Ford: “I don’t read for comfort. Comfort I source elsewhere.” The Guardian.
Hop in: Richard Ford and Lorrie Moore offer unforgettable summer road trips. NPR.
What Is Urban Fantasy and How You Can Try this Growing Genre
Even if you don't regularly haunt the science fiction and fantasy section of your local bookstore, chances are you've crossed paths with the vibrant, ever-popular subgenre of urban fantasy. Not only is there frequently an urban fantasy or two on the New York Times bestseller list, but it's one of the most common types of fantasy to make its way to the big and small screen, according to Writer's Digest. How do you recognize a good urban fantasy when you see one, and if you want to try your hand at writing one, what's the basic recipe?
Fiction vs. Fantasy: What’s the difference? The Collector.
On the exponential difficulty of juggling many narrative voices. Lit Hub.
How to write a historical drama screenplay (free beat sheet template). No Film School.
Quiz: Can you match the horror novel to its opening lines? BookRiot.
Legendary writer Kurt Vonnegut cleverly explains how to write the 3 stories everyone loves. Upworthy.
How to Write a Book: 23 simple steps from a bestselling author Jerry Jenkins here.
27 dialogue mistakes. Film Courage.
How to build anticipation and tell the best stories. Fanfare.
Understanding scene types. Writer's Digest.
Five micro-edits to hook readers on your first page. Writers Helping Writers.
Google Docs' AI vs. Grammarly—Which is the better content checker? TechTimes.
Google Docs getting new AI-powered “Proofread.” 9 to 5 Google.
How to create mind maps in Google Docs. Make Use Of.
Google Search now has AI grammar check tool for mobile and desktop users: here's how to use it. Benzinga.
The not so fun side of being a book’s first reader. BookRiot.
Dear Reader: A brief history of book dedications. BookRiot.
A brief history of profanity on television. Mental Floss.
Booksellers are suddenly at the vanguard of the culture wars. Esquire.
How much does it cost to open a bookstore? BookRiot.
Internet Archive's digital library has been found in breach of copyright. The decision has some important implications. The Conversation.
The Internet Archive reaches an agreement with publishers in digital book-lending case. TechSpot.
A book is a book is a book—except when it’s an e-book. The Nation.
How to self-publish your e-book. New York Times.
In these thrillers, the setting becomes a pivotal character. CrimeReads.
How to write for a global audience. Writer's Relief.
Can your series characters evolve? Yes. Some tips on CrimeReads.
Creating historical fiction settings that bring the past to life. By Lisa Taylor for Fictionary.
Man vs. Supernatural. Types of Conflict and Examples. What a man vs the supernatural story is, writes Sherry Leclerc of Fictionary. Examples of man vs supernatural stories. The types of genres that include this type of conflict.
How to Create a Compelling Protagonist in Your Fiction
When writing fiction, we often focus on the plot, and our characters become vehicles for moving the narrative forward. However, if we want readers to become invested in the story, we need to create protagonists who will draw them in, writes Susan Koehler for the Florida Writers Association. So what are some concrete strategies for helping readers identify with our main characters and develop some sort of attachment? How can we be sure readers care about what happens to these fictional friends, and that they stick around to find out?
How to Raise the Stakes in Your Story
As writers, we know that the three basic elements of a fictional story are character, setting, and plot. We spend a lot of time planning and developing each. However, if we want to create a story that really captures readers, we need to be mindful of the stakes, writes Susan Koehler for the Florida Writers Association. When we talk about stakes, we’re referring to what might be gained or lost in the story. The higher the stakes, the more compelling the story. If the protagonist fails to achieve the goal, what will happen? Or in other words…What’s at stake?
When World Building, Do Your Basic Research Before Your First Draft
Ideally, you should conduct enough research to build a strong story world in your mind before you begin your draft, writes Polly Watt, an editor at Fictionary. Failure to do this may mean later halting mid-draft for further research, thus losing momentum. Or worse, you may reach the end of your manuscript and find the whole premise upon which your novel was founded falls apart. Carrying out essential story world research early on is important and necessary. Just don’t get distracted by details unrelated to your story. TIP: Write a story synopsis/overview before deep diving into research, to keep in mind what topics may/may not be relevant, so as to avoid falling into unnecessary research rabbit-holes.
How Dialogue Can Add Complexity, Irony and Emotion to Characters
Writing dialogue provides the subtext, irony, and complexity required for compelling characters and stories. Small words carry heavy loads, when skilfully handled, according to Polly Watt, editor at Fictionary. “There is only one plot: things are not what they seem.”—Jim Thompson. However, writing dialogue precisely and getting the words right is challenging. Let’s examine how to transform filler chat to fulfilling dialogue, starting with the basics. What is dialogue? Dialogue is the reported speech between two or more characters. In prose, it’s distinguished with apostrophes. When writing dialogue, Americans generally use “double” apostrophes, while Brits use ‘single’ ones. Dialogue has many purposes.
How to Hook Your Reader: 5 Tips
How to start your book is the most important decision you’ll need to make.
Why? Because no one’s going to read the next sentence (and the next one, and the next one) if they’re not captivated by the first one, writes Ariel Curry. This is such an important decision and skill to cultivate that fiction author Les Edgerton wrote an entire book about hooks, appropriately called Hooked: Write Fiction That Grabs Readers at Page One and Never Lets Them Go. In the book, Edgerton argues that authors need to put their best ideas and most intriguing words right at the beginning of a manuscript—especially when you’re pitching a book to agents or editors. Remember, he’s writing about fiction, but a lot of what he says applies to nonfiction, too.
The importance of a great opening in a novel. Writers Helping Writers
Describing a Character’s Emotions: Problems and Solutions
Characters are the heart of a story, but what really draws readers in is their emotions. Only…showing them isn’t always easy, is it, asks author and coach Angela Ackerman. Like us in the real world, characters will struggle. Life is never all cherries and diamonds; in fact, it’s our writerly job to make sure reality fish-slaps our characters with painful life lessons! Big or small, these psychologically difficult moments will cause them to retreat and protect themselves emotionally, believing if they do so, it will prevent them from feeling exposed and hurt in the future.
5 reasons you need to know your character’s emotional wound. DIY MFA
Writing mistakes writers make: basic character descriptions. Writer's Digest
J.A. Jance on creating believable characters. CrimeReads
A no-nonsense guide to getting back to writing after a (long) pause. Writing Cooperative
How do you write a "walk and talk" in a screenplay? No Film School
What’s the difference between Suspense and Mystery? CrimeReads
Tension and Conflict: They’re Different. Why You Need Both
I used to think tension and conflict were the same thing. I mean don't they go together, asks author and editor September Fawkes in commentary here. Well, a lot of the time they do, but it's entirely possible to have one without the other. They often go hand-in-hand, but they aren't the same thing. Conflict doesn't necessarily equal tension, and tension doesn't equal conflict. Lately I've been editing stories that seem to have so much conflict and no tension! I don't care about the conflicts. I don't care about the characters. Because there is no tension. Tension isn't the conflict.
How to Write an Adventure Story
What makes an adventure story work, and how do you write one? (Ideally, one that's good!) We're continuing our series on how to write each of the ten types of stories, writes David Stafford of The Write Practice. (By the way, we think there's really only nine types of stories, but nine is such a lame number for a list, so we cheated a bit. Adventure story tips.
Adventure book ideas: 20 prompts for survival and adventure stories. The Write Practice
An unreliable narrator can misdirect, add intrigue, and fundamentally change the trajectory and moral of your story. Tips by Lee Purcell of BookBaby.
How to find a charming narrator in a self-conscious age. Lit Hub
Szilvia Molnar on knowing when to kill your darlings. Lit Hub
Jennifer Rosner on crafting evocative historical fiction that honors the past. Lit Hub
Authors have been making things up again. Lit Hub
Writing in the South—about Southern women. CrimeReads
Espionage book recommendations from a former CIA spy. CrimeReads
How to Create Conflict & Tension in Your Characters
Most of us are looking for less conflict and tension in our lives. Just head to the nearest bookstore and check out the Self-Help section. But if you happen to be a writer (this probably pertains more to fiction), your characters NEED conflict and tension–a lot of it! If a story flows merrily along from beginning to end, there isn’t anything for your readers to invest in, no one to cheer for, and no feeling of resolution at the end. So, let’s look at some places to find conflict and tension and get them into your story, writes Anne Hawkinson in the Florida Writers Association.
What Is a Ghostwriter (And How Do I Become One)?
Curious about what ghostwriting is and whether or not it’s for you? Here’s a basic overview to give you insight into this prevalent—and sometimes controversial—side of the writing world. Story by Lee Purcell on BookBaby.
Mark Mathes outlines 10 things to do when creating dialogue and just as many to avoid. Having trouble with dialogue? Email me today.
A checklist on how to improve your dialogue from Mark.
Prince Harry's ghostwriter JR Moehringer defends book after criticism over inaccuracies. Sky.com
Does historical accuracy matter in historical fiction? CrimeReads commentary.
25 Sensory Writing Prompts to Improve Detail & Description
By most accounts, there are more than five senses. Some experts say there are seven, some as many as 20. But narrowing in on at least the five classical senses can lend a much-needed “sense” of detail to your writing. Here are five prompts for each of those five classic senses.
Want to put something in writing? Read these books. Getting words onto a page can be a painful process. Authors of all abilities, help is within reach. The New York Times.
Dialogue Is Not Conversation
Young writers often confuse dialogue with conversation, under the assumption that the closer you get to reality, the more convincing you sound. But dialogue is not conversation. Dialogue is a construct; it is artificial. It is much more efficient and believable than real conversation, writes John L'Heureux.
The best pro tactics for writing dialogue. From Screencraft.
An introduction to screenwriting. Free ebook from Screencraft.
John Grisham’s tips for popular fiction writing here.
7 newsletters that will improve your writing. Electric Literature.
Getting the investigative details right in cozy mysteries. Research tips from CrimeReads.
The Backlist: Revisiting Larry Brown’s ‘Father and Son’ with Ace Atkins, from CrimeReads.
Authors: Is there an animated book cover in your future? Commentary from the Book Publicist.
11 books about grammar, language, copyediting, from BuzzFeed News.
Against copyediting: Is it time to abolish the Department of Corrections? Commentary from Lit Hub.
Peter Ho Davies on the art of revision. Lit Hub.
The world through a copyeditor’s eyes. The Bulwark.
The book that put the (delightful) drudgery into espionage. Commentary from Esquire.
5+ Frame story examples from fiction & film (define + apply). Techniques from Smart Blogger.
Jerry Jenkins: How Conflict Drives Your Story
Jerry Jenkins: Successful writers and writing coaches know that conflict is the engine of fiction. Without it, your story will likely fall flat. That’s why in this article, I cover:
How to inject conflict
Five types of conflict that will add spice to your story
Making conflict believable so readers keep turning the pages.
3 Critical Questions as You Draft or Revise Your Novel
Before spending time on a story that doesn’t work, ensure you’ve addressed the critical questions of character, plot, goals and motivations, according to regular contributor Susan DeFreitas (@manzanitafire), an award-winning author, editor, and book coach. Tips here.
A Dozen Tips on How to Balance Backstory
How much backstory is too much backstory, and how do we know when we haven’t given enough? Here, bestselling author Jenna Kernan offers six dos and six don’ts of revealing critical backstory in a novel, in Writer's Digest.
How Authors Can Use ProfNet to Connect with Topic Experts
ProfNet connects journalists and authors with subject matter experts. For journalists, bloggers and other content creators, a quality expert can be the difference between a story that flops and a story that flies. Get the right sources that fit your exact needs, quickly and with no hassle. Sign up for ProfNet here. If you already have an account with PR Newswire for Journalists, you’re all set!
Plotter vs. Pantser: Why Not Use Some of Both Techniques?
When it comes to outlining vs. improvising, I’ve found that we all do the same steps in a different order, writes Ada Palmer on Tor.com. Many writing conversations (whether on panels, in blog posts, etc.) discuss a plotter vs. pantser binary, plotters being outliners, authors who plan work thoroughly before beginning, while the pantser, from the expression “fly by the seat of your pants” plunges into writing the beginning without a plan. I myself am certainly the plotter archetype, producing reams of notes, spreadsheets, and outlining a whole series before beginning Chapter 1, but the more I talk with friends who fit the pantser archetype, the clearer it becomes that the two methods are not as different as they’re made to seem. The real difference is not what we do, but what order we do it in, which steps we do before, which during, and which after drafting the text. I start with a long process of world building, with character creation as a part of it, in which nifty concepts and ideas for people shaped by them appear and connect together, forming a world and its tensions. Along this will develop a sense of mood or emotion, and the overall long stages of a story (mystery, then tragedy, then crisis, then hope, or crisis first, then mystery, then hope, then tragedy, etc.).
Story Elements: Cut or Keep?
There’s a lot of world-building that takes place when a writer embarks on the journey of creating a story. The plot guides the reader along the path from first to last sentence. Interwoven in the plot are sensory details that make the story come alive for the reader. What’s important to keep, and what can be set aside, writes asks Anne Hawkinson for the FWA.
6 story polishing tips from a writing contest judge, from Writer’s Digest here.
Dr. Seuss might be known for his children's books, but his political cartoons were next-level. Upworthy.
The long, winding, booby-trapped, and occasionally rewarding road to publication. Lit Hub.
OPENINGS/CLOSINGS
How to Open a Chapter
In the opening page of the book, and opening of each subsequent chapter, answer the reader: What’s in it for me? Conflict that is interesting, dramatic and engages the reader.
Open with mystery, violence, danger, bizarre situations, anger. These elements can speed into conflict. Tips from Mark Mathes.
How to Close Your Chapter Strongly
Leave them hanging: a story that ends at the height of high drama, some unresolved conflict, or some sudden accusation. The scene seems to be resolving as the reader expects, and then the chapter cuts abruptly. Tips from Mark Mathes. How to end a chapter.
How to Use a Decision Tree to Sharpen Your Stories
Writer’s Relief: Navigating a new story idea can feel like following a blank map. You’re not sure how to get where you’re going—or even where to start. Does your character walk or drive to reach a destination? Should the protagonist face an obstacle head-on or ignore it? Will a scoundrel get a punch in the nose or a kiss? Every choice you make carries weight, so each decision matters. The experts at Writer’s Relief know a writing technique that can help you whittle down your options and improve your focus: Create a decision tree.
10 best opening lines in mystery novels. Times Now News.
8 of the most shocking first lines in fiction. Book Riot.
25 Ways to Start a Story That Can Grab the Reader
Because getting started is sometimes the hardest part of any project, here are 25 ways to start a story that writers can use to prompt their next tale. By Robert Lee Brewer. Writer's Digest. And, A Year of Writing Prompts. Story Ideas for Honing Your Craft and Eliminating Writer’s Block. Here. This is a quick read for every day of the coming year to help jump start your opening lines to start a story.
7 tips for writing effective endings to short stories. Writer's Digest.
Make a Story Map for Your Website, Blog and Stories.
The website Tools for Reporters suggested many ways that authors and journalists can illustrate their presentations with a story map. This works on WordPress, blogs and websites, and more. This tool came via Teddy Maiorca, who contributed several TFR posts this year. The NU Knight Lab has created several really fun and impressive tools, and this one spices up your story by putting its points on a map. Tips here. And more tips here.
10 Ways to Start Your Story Better in Chapter 1
The entire course of a story or novel, like an avalanche, is largely defined within its first seconds. Jacob Appel offers 10 ways to launch yours in the right direction.
The sentence you are currently reading has the potential to brand itself indelibly upon our cultural consciousness and to alter the course of Western Civilization. OK, maybe that’s an exaggeration. But what author doesn’t dream of crafting an opening line that will achieve the iconic recognition of “Call me Ishmael,” or the staying power of “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth …”? In writing, as in dating and business, initial reactions matter. You don’t get a second chance, as mouthwash commercials often remind us, to make a first impression.
So it’s unfortunate that opening sentences frequently receive short shrift in writing workshops. More from Writers Digest here.
What’s the Point of View of Your Story? A Critical Early Decision.
There can be a lot of anxiety about selecting the right point of view for a novel. It’s no wonder: there are a lot of conflicting opinions. Some prevailing wisdom claims that publishers only like the third person, or that a writer will never find an agent who will accept a novel written in the first person. One of the benefits of being a self-published author is that you have the freedom to select whichever point of view for your novel in progress makes the most sense to you, writes Sassafras Lowery in Book Life.
Denouement: Tie Loose Ends. Resolve Conflicts. Reveal Clues.
Some writers use the literal definition of the word denouement as they resolve all of the turmoil they have to create in their work, writes Anne Hawkinson for The Florida Writer Association. I tend to use the term in the opposite way — I gather together all of the plot threads I’ve created and ensure that things are wrapped up in a neat, tidy bow (as opposed to the literal definition where the knot is untied and all plot bits are smoothed out as the story ends). How you decide to use the definition is up to you, but it’s a vital element in the process of writing a story. Conflicts need to be resolved. Questions need to be answered. Clues need to be revealed, along with the reason why they were put there in the first place.
Is Your Setting a Backdrop or Essential to the Events of the Plot?
When writing a story, you must decide if your setting is simply a backdrop for your plot or if your setting is essential to the events of the plot. If the latter is true, it may be helpful to start treating your plot the same way you would a human character within your story. How does that work? You have to start by analyzing all of the ways setting impacts your story. Here are a few ways to consider how setting can function as a character in fiction. Writers.com
Editing Is Not One Thing. What Editors Can Do.
What do you mean by "editor?" Many seem baffled by that question. No doubt they are clear about their understanding of what an editor does — an understanding that probably comes from their primary experience in the world of journalism and writing, writes Jacqui Banaszynski in Nieman Storyboard. But to be of any use, I have to know what they need help with, and whether I'm the right kind of editor to provide that help. Do they want someone to help with story focus or even the validity of the core idea? Someone to serve as an involved but hands-off-the-keyboard coach to read and comment on drafts? An editor to wrestle complex information into a cohesive structure? A line editor who can smooth and tighten their writing without destroying their voice? An eagle-eyed copy editor to read behind them for style, syntax, grammar, accuracy? Editing is not one thing.
How to Write with Muscular Metaphors
Shutta Crum: It’s about time we got around to talking about metaphors—the big sister/brother of similes. Metaphors have more muscle than similes, and less tact. Rather than using a qualifying word such as “like” or “as” between two comparisons, metaphors just blurt out that one thing is another. Sure, tougher sibling Metaphor can be a bit rude, but it does its job quickly and without a lot of extraneous verbiage. More commentary by Shutta in the Florida Writer newsletter.
Notes from a nonfiction writing workshop. Nieman Storyboard.
How to Take A Story Idea from Concept to Finished Novel
Writer’s Relief tips: Brainstorm and plan. From meticulous plotters to adventurous pantsers, every writer can benefit from brainstorming! Committing the little spark of your novel to paper or a computer document can help you determine if you have enough raw material to fully develop the idea. Of course, it’s okay to stray from your original concept if a better option presents itself as you write. More tips here.
The brief, bloody story of Los Angeles’s own “Bonnie & Clyde.” CrimeReads.
The New York Review turns 60. New York Books.
An act of admiration: editing the New York Review. New York Books.
Crime and the City: Las Vegas. CrimeReads.
Love Letters to a Serial Killer: Excerpt and cover reveal. CrimeReads.
How John le Carré ran his many mistresses like spies, with code names, dead drops and safe houses: Only now do we know. Daily Mail.
A new biography and documentary revisit John le Carré's complicated past. Airmail.
Spying is lying: How David Cornwell became John le Carré. Lit Hub.
John le Carré: The remarkable life of the spy and author. Yahoo News.
The Secret Life of John le Carré by Adam Sisman review – the spy who loved me. The Guardian.
How Paul Vidich builds his world of spies. CrimeReads.
Ahead of James Patterson's new book release, the author spills on his writing essentials. USA Today.
Dolly Parton has spent over $500 million on books for kids for a sentimental reason. The Things.
Danielle Steel's love affair with writing has translated into an enormous net worth. Parade.
How Bob Dylan blurred the boundaries between literature and popular music. Lit Hub.
How the Elon Musk biography exposes author Walter Isaacson. The Verge.
Ken Follett wants his books to feel as exciting as James Bond. Lit Hub.
Review: In Radical Wolfe, a New Journalism lion roars on page, while his life is quieter. Los Angeles Times.
Karen Russell’s new novel, a fantastical Dust Bowl epic, sounds amazing. Lit Hub.
Book review: James Ellroy's The Enchanters sees return of Freddy Otash. NPR.
Who was Cormac McCarthy? Book Riot.
Stephen King revealed his approach to writing a mystery novel, and it’s way more Alfred Hitchcock than it is Agatha Christie. Cinema Blend.
Stephen King gives Jimmy Jordan a frightening fact-check on crime. HuffPost.
Holly is one of Stephen King's most political novels to date. NPR.
Hollywood loves Elmore Leonard. The feeling was not always mutual. Washington Post.
Publisher showed stoic resilience as he lost house, yacht, everything. Brisbane Times.
Reading Rainbow: How an untested, cash-strapped TV show about books became an American classic. Los Angeles Times.
The history of modern American book publishing—in its own words. Publisher's Weekly.
Book excerpt: American Ramble: A Walk of Memory and Renewal. CBS News.
Bookworm in a chrysalis: How language acquisition nourishes a love of literature. Lit Hub.
City of Dreams author Don Winslow reflects on prose and politics. KPBS.org.
Yes, Don Winslow retired. And yes, City of Dreams is his new novel. Orange County Register.
Don Winslow on the Aeneid, Hollywood, and reaching the end of his career as a novelist. CrimeReads.
What Hemingway means in the 21st century. Lit Hub.
Solving the Mystery of Hemingway’s Big Two-Hearted River. Mountain Journal.
Former FBI Director James Comey has a new title: crime novelist. NPR.
The making of a Cuban-American detective novel. CrimeReads.
How Harper Lee went from wannabe writer to the Jane Austen of Alabama. NPR.
Jerry Springer wants to be an average Joe on Bird Key in Sarasota. Longboat Observer.
Remembering legendary talk show host Jerry Springer. Sarasota magazine.
Dennis Lehane on Boston, busing, and the Summer of ’74. CrimeReads.
“I'm pretty keen on fact.” Margaret Atwood on the questions we must ask ourselves. Lit Hub.
Definitive proof that publishing your novel won't make you happy. Lit Hub.
Model, influencer and former Sarasota resident Eden Lipman doesn’t hold back in her new memoir, Ambitchious. Lipman moved to Sarasota at a young age and spent her formative years on a farm here. Sarasota magazine.
Why Do Books are the perfect life companion for creatives. Creative Boom.
Never too late: over-50s writers urged to write fiction with prize for debut novel. The Guardian.
James Ellroy goes full Ellroy at LA Times Festival of Books. Los Angeles Times.
Why so many journalists turn to careers in crime fiction. Commentary on CrimeReads.
The Life and Legacy of James Ellroy. CrimeReads.
What books hate most in readers. Lit Hub.
The secrets to making money self-publishing your books. Jeff Bullas.
How to make the most of Pinpoint, part of Google’s tool kit for journalists. Fast Company.
How writers lace truth into their fiction. CrimeReads.
Graphic content: Entering the world of Never Sleep with writer Fred van Lente. CrimeReads.
One great short story to read today: Robert Coover’s The Babysitter. Lit Hub.
THE WRITER'S ART
Robert McKee on Story
Robert McKee is the author of Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting, Dialogue: The Art of Verbal Action for Stage, Page and Screen, Storynomics: Story-Driven Marketing in the Post-Advertising World and Character: The Art of Role and Cast Design for Page, Stage, and Screen. McKee also has the blog and online writers' resource Storylogue, a subscription service which starts at $19.97/month.
McKee teaches his Story Structure class annually to sold out auditoriums in Los Angeles, New York, London and film capitals throughout the world. A Fulbright Scholar, this award-winning film and television writer has also served as project and talent development consultant to major production companies such as Tri-Star and Golden Harvest Films. He lives in Los Angeles and Cornwall, England.
From Pat Gray: I have provided this list of general topics, which probably came from the show’s producers, solely as a skeleton framework for a sheet of notes:
The need for good roles for fine actors.
New era of the long form story.
Moral conflict is a compelling fascination.
How the reader or viewer may empathize with a particular character.
Story is character and character is story.
Story is a metaphor for life and equipment for living.
Why Robert chooses to write encompassing the mediums of page, stage and screen.
The challenges for emerging authors, screen and play writers.
What Stanislavski meant by “The art of themselves or themselves and the art.”
McKee's books via Bookshop.org.
Grammar Moses, New Book by Chicago Newspaper Editor, Commands Readers to Watch Their Words
Every Sunday Jim Baumann, the mild-mannered managing editor of the Daily Herald, slips into his waggish alter ego as Grammar Moses to remind readers why they need to speak, write and think carefully, writes Chicago media columnist Robert Feder.. Now he’s ready to throw the book at them. Eckhartz Press, the Chicago-based publishing house led by Rick Kaempfer and David Stern, just announced the release of Grammar Moses: A humorous look at grammar and usage. The 169-page paperback is available for pre-order now. Here is the link.
New AP Stylebook Helps Writers with Pot Terms. Why Stylebooks Are Critical.
The Associated Press Stylebook now has an entry called “marijuana, cannabis.”
It includes definitions for cannabinoids, decriminalization, delta, edibles, hemp and 420, among other related terms.
You can find this in the new AP Stylebook, 56th Edition, and on AP Stylebook Online.
From editor Mark Mathes: Stylebooks and stylesheets are critical for journalists and authors too. Here are examples of stylesheets that I have created to help authors use language, terms, punctuation and other style consistently. And two stylebooks I created for the New York Times Co.
AP advises newsrooms not to use "military service."
Pat Gray Offers Tips: Only One Space Between Sentences
Sarasota Fiction Writers officer and critique group leader Pat Gray helps writers decide: one space or two? Here's an argument that everyone has something to say about: How many spaces are you supposed to put after a period? The answer is one. Putting two spaces between sentences, as many people learned to do in school -- and are still learning -- thanks to early monospaced typewriters "is totally, completely, utterly, and inarguably wrong," according to Slate's then technology columnist, Farhad Manjoo -- and every major style guide, starting with the Chicago Manual. Tips here.
Can Fiction Authors Write in the Present Tense? Yes, Carefully.
Yes, fiction writers can indeed write in the present tense, which can bring a sense of immediacy to your story. That doesn’t mean writing in the present tense will be easy. It will in fact be harder than writing in the traditional past tense, writes Mark Mathes, book editor and SFW president. I read up on present tense versus past tense and found some helpful tips in the Gotham Writers Workshop Writing Fiction book. More tips here.
18 Top Writing Books, from Tor.com
Are you a writer? Do you like learning about the creative process, either for your own projects, or just cause you think it’s interesting? This post is about to make your day. As I’m sure you know, there is a booming industry of books on the art and craft of writing, from all sort of different authors, who cover all sorts of different angles. I’ve rounded up 18 of my favorites.
Let me start with one piece of my own advice: all of the books on this list are very good, and helpful, and if you’re a writer I think you should read them! BUT: What makes a writer is creating a space, as often as possible, to think and write. And that can mean many things, writes Leah Schnelbach in Tor.com.
PW Profiles Fast-Growing Indie Publishers Who Buck Amazon Trends
This is the first time that Microcosm Publishing, of Portland, Ore., has made it onto PW’s list of fast-growing independent publishers, and it has landed with a bang: net revenue spiked 106% in 2021 over 2020 and was up 207% over 2019, writes Publishers Weekly. Founder Joe Biel attributes the company’s success to publishing compelling reads that have been “categorically turned down by other publishers,” like Microcosm’s runaway top-seller, Unf*ck Your Brain, which the company says has sold five million copies in all formats since 2016. One of its bestsellers last year is well-known to indie booksellers: How to Resist Amazon and Why, by Raven Book Store owner Danny Caine, which has sold more than 34,000 copies in all formats since its November 2019 release; a second edition is in the works. “Every one of our bestselling books was a debut by an author with no platform,” Biel notes. “Our role is more about finding what is the taste of the time.”
How to write for a global audience. Writer's Relief.
Can your series characters evolve? Yes. Some tips on CrimeReads.
Creating historical fiction settings that bring the past to life. By Lisa Taylor for Fictionary.
Man vs. Supernatural. Types of Conflict and Examples. What a man vs the supernatural story is, writes Sherry Leclerc of Fictionary. Examples of man vs supernatural stories. The types of genres that include this type of conflict.
How to Build Symbolism into Your Writing
Symbolism examples are all around us. Hearts mean love. Rainbows mean hope. You’re probably so familiar with those, you don’t even think about them. In literature, symbolism lets authors use one thing (like a heart) to represent a deeper meaning (like love), writes Ali Luke in SmartBlogger. Often, symbolism evokes abstract ideas or emotions by using something tangible. Symbolism lets writers reveal a greater truth or idea — or simply link together different elements into a cohesive plot or theme.
What Can Fiction Do for True Crime Stories That True Crime Can’t? Empathy.
First things first. I’m a true crime junkie. I’m also a fiction writer, writes Sadie Hoagland in Crime Reads. And while I do have dreams of pursuing a true crime project, maybe even solving a cold case, I’m pretty entrenched in the writing of novels. There are not a lot of novels that take on true crime—part of the appeal of true crime is in fact that it is rooted firmly in our reality, that it really happened. But fiction about true crime can explore questions that we can’t if we are “sticking to the facts.” Story can imagine the psychic state of the killer and victim, can delve into motivations, and can take the time to empathize deeply with those involved—sometimes even offering belated redemption, or imagining a more just ending to the tale. But even if it can do all this, what does it owe to reality?
Before You Start to Write, Check This Free Handy Planning Tool
Before you set deadlines or create your writing space, there are a few things you should do, according to Dave Chesson of Kindlepreneur.
Figure out why you’re writing.
Don’t give yourself excuses to not write.
Determine your big idea.
Create a budget for your book writing.
Establish accountability.
Announce that you’re writing a book!
How to Research Fiction and Non-Fiction Stories
Why is research so important—and what are the various ways you can do it effectively? How do you credit your sources? Plus, more tips on researching fiction and non-fiction.
Joanna Penn did a recent interview with Orna Ross on the Ask ALLi Podcast about book research. You can watch the video, listen to the audio, or read the transcript. YouTube 46:16.
Where to Start Your Story? Follow Traditional Structure, Says Reedsy Webinar.
Storytelling follows a structure that comes to us from antiquity. Here is an example of a structure in a rising action in Cinderella, says Reedsy webinar presenter Oksana Marafioti in a recorded webinar here. This is just one example of thousands where a story starts with something that seems to be ordinary. Then suddenly, things change, and our main characters are thrown into an extraordinary situation. This transcript has been edited for clarity and includes writing exercises not covered in detail during the live webinar.
Writer’s Knowledge Base Offers 61,000+ Free Articles on Writing
Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer's Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 61,000 free articles on writing-related topics, according to cozy mystery author Elizabeth S. Craig. It’s the search engine for writers. While you're there, check out the Writer's Digest award-winning Hiveword novel organizer among the WD Best Websites for 2020 here. Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here.
AutoCrit Create a Free Story Structure Worksheet
This AutoCrit easy to reference Story Structure Worksheet will help ensure your story:
Includes the right beats
Is paced in the right order
Stays thrilling from start to finish.
Once you’ve finished writing your story, you can map it out directly on this worksheet and check to see whether it flows like you hoped it did – and that you’re keeping up the thrills of conflict the entire time.
Why It May Be Time to Rethink Genre on Search Engines and Store Shelves
So here we are in the 21st century. Inclusion is the catch-phrase of the second generation of the new millennium. But my conjecture is that inclusion has led this generation to the polar opposite of that concept’s intended purpose, writes Paul Iasevoli on the Florida Writers Association. By creating separate genre categories to emphasize diversity, the literati have driven unnecessary wedges between sections of the writing community. In the last century, cisgender, white, Anglo-Saxon males controlled the sales of most mainstream literature. However, in the 21st Century, the publishing industry, in an attempt to compensate for its myopia, has put on blinders instead of corrective lenses. These blinders are found within the search engines of online book sites as well as in the organization of bookstore shelves. It is as if the industry has taken one of God’s earliest commandments and transferred it to literature by naming genres with ever narrower categories.
7 Ways to Add Great Subplots to Your Novel
Whether you're planning the fabric of a new story or looking to thread depth into one that's falling flat, try these 7 methods to add great subplots to your novel for a tightly woven plot, writes Elizabeth Sims in Writer's Digest.
Wordsmith Bill Safire: Don’t Use No Double Negatives
Author Frank Scozzari @ScozzariFrank shared some classic advice from wordsmith, author and political speech writer Bill Safire.
Don't use no double negatives.
Avoid commas, that are not necessary.
Verbs has to agree with their subjects.
Kill all exclamation points!!!
Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.
Last but not least, avoid clichés like the plague.
—William Safire
Frank Scozzari is a five-time Pushcart Prize nominee. His award-winning short stories have been widely anthologized and featured in literary theater.
A Brief History of National Grammar Day, March 4
National Grammar Day, which is celebrated on March 4, was established in 2008 by Martha Brockenbrough, the author of Things That Make Us [Sic] and founder of the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar (SPOGG). Former President George W. Bush sent a letter commemorating the day in its inaugural year. In an interview with Grammarly last year, Martha explained that she founded the day because she wanted to help her students with their grammar in a lively and positive way. As the National Grammar Day website states, “Language is something to be celebrated, and March 4 is the perfect day to do it. It’s not only a date, it’s an imperative: March forth on March 4 to speak well, write well, and help others do the same!” History of Grammar Day on Grammarly.
How to write fast — or at least faster. Tips from Poynter.
A Whimsical Request Inspired Some Essential Writing Tools
Roy Peter Clark: Early last October I received a small package from England, which looked most interesting even before I opened it. The envelope celebrated “Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.” When I flipped it over, it was sealed with a Mick Jagger stamp and hand-written note: “He also can’t get no satisfaction….” He was asking, in essence, that I write him a mini-book, a personal anthology of my thoughts on writing. At first, I was put off by the brashness of the request. But then I thought, why the hell not? More and more, it seems to me, what a writer remembers is often the most important.
I would select my favorite bits of advice, not just from the new book, but from the six that preceded it — the kind of practical strategies that work best in my coaching and teaching. Clark's commentary. Clark is on the faculty at Poynter Institute, S. Petersburg.
How to Find Your Target Audience
Category and genre play a huge role in identifying a writer’s target audience. The picture book audience is far different from the literary fiction audience. This sounds obvious, but many writers struggle to identify their proper audience, according to the Good Story Company. This is a basic writing concept we teach our elementary students, but it eludes some of us adult writers when we get excited about a manuscript that we love so much, we think everyone else will, too. Identifying the target audience is crucial to writing a compelling story that meets reader expectations.
Targeting Your Readers a Critical Early Step
Targeting the most likely readers for your book is a crucial part of your promotion strategy that requires careful consideration, as it can make or break your book publishing success, writes Jim Foley, president of BookBaby. Some authors are nervous and get stressed out about audience targeting—others have a crystal-clear vision of who their readers are. Unfortunately, some absolutely miss the mark, while others completely overlook this important step altogether.
Jerry Jenkins: Theme Is the Why of Your Story.
Theme is the “why” of your story — the message you want readers to take from it.
A book without a theme won’t resonate long with readers. While it must be subtle, to be effective it must come through, writes best selling author and writing coach Jerry Jenkins.
If that seems a tall order, read my blog post, 15 Common Themes in Literature, where I cover:
What a theme really is
The subtle difference between a theme, a moral, and a motif
15 examples of common literary themes to inspire you
How to determine your theme and make it work.
Fictionary Tips on Creating Compelling Characters
Fictionary Certified StoryCoach Editor Polly Watt has shared tips on creating compelling characters. Tips here.
And you'll discover:
Why compelling characters are important
Five helpful tips for creating compelling characters
The importance of emotional impact.
How to Write a Great Mystery
Mysteries appeal to our need to survive by figuring out the puzzles, problems, and sometimes crimes that affect our lives (or those of a character we care about). Today we continue our series on how to write each of the ten types of stories with how to write a mystery novel, writes Joslyn Chase in The Write Practice.
21 Popular Mystery Tropes for Authors
There's nothing quite like a good mystery. There's something so satisfying about solving a mystery, and mysteries intrinsically invite the viewer or reader to play along, which may make this the most interactive genre in fiction, writes Robert Lee Brewer in Writer's Digest. And mysteries are loaded with some very common tropes, whether it has to do with the suspects, the investigators, or the setting. These tropes can be useful for making a story feel comfortable, and a trope-aware author will use them to send readers down more than a few dead ends and false conclusions before finally landing on who did it...or not?
20 mystery story ideas by Ruthanne Reid.
The best plot twists in mystery.
Whodunits, Cozies, and more: a mystery sub-genres primer. Bookriot.
How Long Should a Novel Be? Think Word Count, Not Page Count
Getting ready to write a book and wondering how many words you need to pen? Here are some rule-of-thumb insights into how long your book should be. Read more from BookBaby.
Tips to Avoid Pitfalls When Writing Third Person
Jerry Jenkins: Third-person is the most common point of view in story-telling, but that doesn’t mean it’s without pitfalls. That’s why I’ve put together a guide you can link to here, containing everything you need to know about the third-person POV, including:
The differences between third-person limited and third-person omniscient and when to use each
How to keep your POV consistent to avoid confusing readers
Three rookie mistakes when writing in third-person.
How to Write Heroes and Villains
Fictionary Certified StoryCoach Editor James Gallagher wrote a helpful article on How to Write Heroes and Villains for the Fictionary blog. You can read it here here.
Who the heroes and villains are in your story
3 tips for creating story-worthy heroes
3 tips for crafting devious villains.
When you write about people in your life, anticipate consequences. Writing Cooperative.
How a Writer Traces Life of One Schizophrenia Sufferer to Tell a Bigger Story
A project by Los Angeles Times reporter Thomas Curwen and photojournalist Christina House takes us as close to that interior world as anything. "A world gone mad" finds doorways into the many lands inhabited by Anthony Mazzucca — in institutions, with his parents, in jail and, most mysteriously, in his head. It's a harrowing profile of the schizophrenia that ruled much of Anthony's life since his teen years. But it also places Anthony and his mother — who is his valiant advocate — in the context of systems that are either uncaring or ill-equipped to deal with the erratic needs of the mentally ill. Curwen, who has won awards for everything from narrative to breaking news to investigative work, is a long-time friend of Storyboard. His answers about reporting and writing "A world gone mad" are one of those annotations that could serve as a journalism textbook.
How a Bigshot Writing Coach Beats Writer’s Block
It might give you comfort to learn that America’s friendliest writing coach on occasion succumbs to writer’s block. On a rare occasion, he refers to himself in the third person, but will stop doing that — right now, writes Roy Peter Clark, writing coach at the Poynter Institute in St. Pete. I am thinking about this now because instead of revising my 300-page book manuscript, I am writing this essay on writer’s block. I could be watching the hockey game or mowing the lawn, but this will do for the moment. However odd they may seem, they have worked for me now into my 20th book as author or editor. Here they are in no particular order.
A Whimsical Request Inspired Some Essential Writing Tools
Roy Peter Clark: Early last October I received a small package from England, which looked most interesting even before I opened it. The envelope celebrated “Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.” When I flipped it over, it was sealed with a Mick Jagger stamp and hand-written note: “He also can’t get no satisfaction….”
He was asking, in essence, that I write him a mini-book, a personal anthology of my thoughts on writing. At first, I was put off by the brashness of the request. But then I thought, why the hell not? More and more, it seems to me, what a writer remembers is often the most important.
I would select my favorite bits of advice, not just from the new book, but from the six that preceded it — the kind of practical strategies that work best in my coaching and teaching. Clark's commentary.
Keep readers engaged with your book by building suspense in your story. We offer writing tips with five different approaches to building suspense. Writing tips from BookBaby.
Climbing the “ladder of abstraction” to evoke empathy and elevate your message. Writing tips from the Nieman Foundation Storyboard newsletter (free).
Flip through Literature's greatest ever opening (and closing) passages. Memorable lines, compiled by Flipboard.
For today’s crime novels, the stakes are high, right from the first sentence. CrimeReads.
Rita Chang-Eppig on how to write a fight scene. Lit Hub.
Murder is a plot point. Suicide isn’t. Lit Hub.
Tampa Bay Times reporter Lane DeGregory, and editor Maria Carillo host a podcast, WriteLane.
WRITING PODCAST
Pat Gray Shares Tips for Characters and Stories from Reporter Lane DeGregory
From Pat Gray: Kristen Hare sends me a newsletter every week. I love that she does this, because many times she is inspirational, and things that she says about journalism can often be applied, at least in part, to fiction writing.
Here is an example. She speaks of a journalist Lane DeGregory. I’d never heard of her. Her advice about where to get good ideas about a character is valid for any kind of writing. The WriteLane is a podcast by Pulitzer Prize-winning Tampa Bay Times journalist Lane DeGregory and Maria Carrillo, a former senior deputy editor at the newspaper. DeGregory has a keen eye for these kinds of stories. Be curious. Be a joiner. Seek out places where people gather.
This isn’t a “be-all, end-all” for anyone. Just a tool for the proverbial toolbox. Those tools add up.
GENRE/WORLD BUILDING
5 Writing Tips from Novelist Laura Lippman. Start by Showing Up.
Writing is a sedentary gig unless one has a treadmill desk. But I have long believed writing and working out are complementary disciplines, writes novelist Laura Lippman for BookLife. And it's not just that moving counterbalances the effects of sitting in a chair for so many hours every day. I've long believed that the work-out life has lessons for the writing life. I've "solved" a lot of books while at the gym, in part because I'm not trying to solve them at that precise moment. When you're loose, focusing on a physical task, it's amazing what can happen in your head. And it turns out that a lot of advice given to people who want to exercise will also work for those trying to establish a writing routine.
Show up on a regular basis. If I waited to be inspired to go to the gym, I'd never get there. I schedule my exercise time, I schedule my work time.
A Word Count Guide for 18 Book Genres: Memoirs, Children’s Books, and Non-Fiction
How many words in a novel? If you’re working on a novel-length book, aim for 50,000 words at the very least—but it’s better to aim for 90,000. Editorial trimming is inevitable. However, you’ll also want to take your genre into account, writes Blake Atwood in The Write Life.
Know Your Genre -- 5 Tips for Success
If you're going to do book marketing right, you need to be able to analyze your section of the market effectively -- not only do you need to understand trends in the self-publishing industry, but you've also got to know what's likely to get the attention (and book-buying dollars) of the people who identify as fans of your genre, according to Book Marketing Tools.
Today's Tuesday Tips are all about analyzing your genre and identifying trends so you can ensure that your book makes the biggest possible splash.
In a recent blog post, we took a look at how indie authors can use competitive analysis to their advantage when it comes to boosting book marketing. One aspect of this process involves diving deep in order to understand trends in an author's chosen genre.
Some book marketing tips apply to all genres, but if you dig a little deeper, you'll find that focusing your efforts on the strategies that work specifically within your genre can help you connect with more readers and sell more books.
The Anatomy of Genres with John Truby
What is genre, and how can transcending it improve your fiction? How can you effectively write cross genre? John Truby gives an overview of the Anatomy of Genres. Click here to read the transcript or listen, on The Creative Penn.
Write What Your Readers Expect in Your Genre
Whether your reader is scrolling online or strolling through a book shop, they have an idea of what to expect when they choose a book from a particular genre, writes Anne Hawkinson for the Florida Writers Association. As a writer, you will want to ensure your book finds its way to the proper shelf (virtual or otherwise) so that readers will be able to find what they’re looking for. Let’s explore some expectations for a few. Keep in mind that there may be exceptions, but there are general characteristics that readers look for and have come to expect.
How to Raise the Stakes in Your Story
As writers, we know that the three basic elements of a fictional story are character, setting, and plot. We spend a lot of time planning and developing each of those elements. However, if we want to create a story that really captures readers, we need to be mindful of the stakes, writes Susan Koehler for the Florida Writers Association.
Character Arcs: How to Make a Long Story Short
A well-structured story uses events (also called story beats) to move the narrative forward — with compelling issues, rising stakes, and an organic sense of cause and effect — toward a surprising-yet-inevitable resolution, writes Jami Gold of Writers Helping Writers. At the same time, our story’s plot events force our characters to react, adapt, make choices, and decide on priorities, often resulting in new goals and revealing a character’s values and beliefs. The biggest events are “turning points,” which send the story in new directions and create the sense of change for a story’s arc. In other words, story structure affects both plot and character (internal/emotional) arcs. So just as we must adjust the plot aspects of story structure when writing a shorter story, we also need to consider the character arc aspects of story structure with shorter stories. Let’s dig into the ways we might tweak story structure for shorter stories, especially when it comes to character arcs.
What to Do When Your Characters Are Naked
Your story idea is well underway, and the characters are firmly set in your mind, writes Anne Hawkinson for the Florida Writers Association. Yikes! They’re all naked! Unless your story takes place in a nudist club, you’ll need to clothe those bodies, and quick!
Character Cheat Sheet to Help Develop Your Cast
A compelling protagonist is the heart of your story, but there are so many facets to character development that it can be hard to know where to start. This guide walks you through the basics of character development, shows you how to hone your voice and flesh out your supporting cast, and includes some prompts to get you started developing unique characters for your own story. A 4-page PDF checklist from DIY MFA.
How to Turn Your Story Inspiration into a Book
Yay! You came up with an awesome idea for a story! It’s been swirling around in your brain for months, growing in size and complexity, and it’s getting more and more insistent in its pleadings to be released onto the page. You finally comply and begin the process but find yourself frozen in front of the screen/paper, writes Anne Hawkinson for the Florida Writers Association. What happened? And, just as important, what can be done to jump-start the journey from brain to book?
10 Questions to Ask Yourself to Create an Airtight Plot
No matter the genre of book you’re writing, certain questions authors ask themselves can help them strengthen their plots and, by extension, strengthen their stories. In this post from 2022, authors Boyd Morrison and Beth Morrison share 10 questions to ask yourself for an airtight plot. Writer's Digest.
Every great scene has these 3 elements. Jen Grisanti in Film Courage.
Make Sure Your Climax Wraps Up the Central Conflict
Your goal as an author is to leave your reader feeling satisfied and like you’ve told a complete story with a well-structured story arc. To do that, you need to make sure your climax wraps up the central conflict and packs a serious sucker punch, writes Shane Millar for BookBaby. Start writing at the end.
Tips for Writing for the Children’s Market
Have an interest in writing for children? Do you dream up story ideas that would make great books for young readers? If so, it’s important to learn about the children’s market, writes Susan Koehler for the Florida Writers Association. Every author is familiar with genre, and most can easily identify their writing as nonfiction, realistic fiction, fantasy, historical, sci-fi, etc. However, in the children’s market, it’s important to also know about book categories. Children grow through stages of cognitive development, and at each stage, they change. Their interests, the things they find funny, the depth of their understanding, and their ability to read differ in each stage.
I make $7,000 a month writing children’s books and teaching others how to self-publish. Here’s how I got started. Business Insider.
How technologists can move from idea to published book, part 5. Forbes.
Great memoirists lie: On Caroline Calloway’s Scammer. LA Review of Books.
On posthumous editing: Should books be edited for contemporary audiences? BookRiot.
How to Write a Story That Immediately Hooks Your Reader
As a Wattpad writer, you want to create a story that immediately hooks your reader. You want to grab their attention from the very first chapter and keep them invested throughout the entire story. In latest episode of Story School, we discuss the three key elements of the most popular reads on Wattpad: Immediate, Engaging, and Commercial. Today we're breaking down the first ingredient, and sharing tips on how you can immediately hook your reader and get them emotionally engaged. Why is the hook so important? Where should your hook be? What should it include?
How to Write Dialogue in a Novel
Learning how to write dialogue is crucial for developing strong, engaging narratives. Authors need to write dialogue that is gripping, realistic, and true to their characters’ voices, writes Victoria Griffin. In theory, dialogue should be the simplest thing to write. After all, we spend much of our lives listening to people speak, ramble, argue, whisper, and scream. We listen to them in real life, on television, in movies. Strangers and friends and family. We converse. We eavesdrop. We use our own voices.
9 ways to “originalize” your story idea. Writers in the Storm.
8 books that use direct address storytelling. Electric Literature.
A Devil’s Bargain: Is Satan a reliable narrator? CrimeReads.
Paid-by-the-page ebook subscription model a boon for genre writers.
How to Use Writing Style, Starting with Description, Comparison
What makes for good literary style? The components are so numerous that it would take all day to list them, but one that jumps out at me is description that is vivid and original, writes N. L. Holmes in the Florida Writers Association. Vivid: It engages your senses until you can really see, hear, taste, smell, and feel the scene the author has laid before you. In fact, she hasn’t just laid it before you. She has drawn you into it. Original: She has expressed herself in ways that are not stereotypical, that create wholly new ways for you to think about the scene, used descriptors that are so new that you’ve never thought of them before, but dang, now that you hear them are perfect.
How to Find Your Target Audience
Category and genre play a huge role in identifying a writer’s target audience. The picture book audience is far different from the literary fiction audience. This sounds obvious, but many writers struggle to identify their proper audience, according to the Good Story Company. This is a basic writing concept we teach our elementary students, but it eludes some of us adult writers when we get excited about a manuscript that we love so much, we think everyone else will, too. Identifying the target audience is crucial to writing a compelling story that meets reader expectations.
Targeting Your Readers a Critical Early Step
Targeting the most likely readers for your book is a crucial part of your promotion strategy that requires careful consideration, as it can make or break your book publishing success, writes Jim Foley, president of BookBaby. Some authors are nervous and get stressed out about audience targeting—others have a crystal-clear vision of who their readers are. Unfortunately, some absolutely miss the mark, while others completely overlook this important step altogether.
Jerry Jenkins: Theme Is the Why of Your Story
Theme is the “why” of your story — the message you want readers to take from it.
A book without a theme won’t resonate long with readers. While it must be subtle, to be effective it must come through, writes best selling author and writing coach Jerry Jenkins.
If that seems a tall order, read my blog post, 15 Common Themes in Literature, where I cover:
What a theme really is
The subtle difference between a theme, a moral, and a motif
15 examples of common literary themes to inspire you
How to determine your theme and make it work.
Fictionary Tips on Creating Compelling Characters
Fictionary Certified StoryCoach Editor Polly Watt has shared tips on creating compelling characters. Tips here.
And you'll discover:
Why compelling characters are important
Five helpful tips for creating compelling characters
The importance of emotional impact.
How to Write a Great Mystery
Mysteries appeal to our need to survive by figuring out the puzzles, problems, and sometimes crimes that affect our lives (or those of a character we care about). Today we continue our series on how to write each of the ten types of stories with how to write a mystery novel, writes Joslyn Chase in The Write Practice.
21 Popular Mystery Tropes for Authors
There's nothing quite like a good mystery. There's something so satisfying about solving a mystery, and mysteries intrinsically invite the viewer or reader to play along, which may make this the most interactive genre in fiction, writes Robert Lee Brewer in Writer's Digest. And mysteries are loaded with some very common tropes, whether it has to do with the suspects, the investigators, or the setting. These tropes can be useful for making a story feel comfortable, and a trope-aware author will use them to send readers down more than a few dead ends and false conclusions before finally landing on who did it...or not?
20 mystery story ideas by Ruthanne Reid.
The best plot twists in mystery.
Whodunits, Cozies, and more: a mystery sub-genres primer. Bookriot.
Tips to Avoid Pitfalls When Writing Third Person
Jerry Jenkins: Third-person is the most common point of view in story-telling, but that doesn’t mean it’s without pitfalls. That’s why I’ve put together a guide you can link to here, containing everything you need to know about the third-person POV, including:
The differences between third-person limited and third-person omniscient and when to use each
How to keep your POV consistent to avoid confusing readers
Three rookie mistakes when writing in third-person.
How to Write Heroes and Villains
Fictionary Certified StoryCoach Editor James Gallagher wrote a helpful article on How to Write Heroes and Villains for the Fictionary blog. You can read it here here.
Who the heroes and villains are in your story
3 tips for creating story-worthy heroes
3 tips for crafting devious villains.
When you write about people in your life, anticipate consequences. Writing Cooperative.
How a Writer Traces Life of One Schizophrenia Sufferer to Tell a Bigger Story
A project by Los Angeles Times reporter Thomas Curwen and photojournalist Christina House takes us as close to that interior world as anything. "A world gone mad" finds doorways into the many lands inhabited by Anthony Mazzucca — in institutions, with his parents, in jail and, most mysteriously, in his head. It's a harrowing profile of the schizophrenia that ruled much of Anthony's life since his teen years. But it also places Anthony and his mother — who is his valiant advocate — in the context of systems that are either uncaring or ill-equipped to deal with the erratic needs of the mentally ill. Curwen, who has won awards for everything from narrative to breaking news to investigative work, is a long-time friend of Storyboard. His answers about reporting and writing "A world gone mad" are one of those annotations that could serve as a journalism textbook.
Writing the historical mystery novel: Jane Smiley explains her process. From Lit Hub.Pittman Interviews Miami Author Raquel Reyes on Cozy Mysteries Popularity
Author, journalist and podcaster Craig Pittman: Our guest is Raquel V. Reyes, author of the Miami-based cozy mystery "Mango, Mambo and Murder (A Caribbean Kitchen Mystery)." We talk to Raquel about the popularity of the "cozy" genre, how her writing is shaking up the genre, and what she loves most about Miami. Podcast: 45:15. This episode of "Welcome to Florida" is presented by Visit Sarasota. Begin planning for your next weekend getaway or family vacation at www.visitsarasota.com and remember to include Sarasota Jungle Gardens and the Celery Fields in your activities. All Welcome to Florida podcast episodes.
101 Fantastical Fantasy Story Prompts for Your Novel or Screenplay
Do you want to write in the fantasy genre but need help conjuring compelling stories and concepts? Sometimes reading simple story prompts is the easiest way to get those creative juices flowing, writes Ken Miyamoto for Screencraft. We get our ideas from many sources—news headlines, novels, television shows, movies, our lives, our fears, our phobias, etc. They can come from a scene or moment in a film that wasn’t fully explored. They can come from a single visual that entices the creative mind—a seed that continues to grow and grow until the writer is forced to finally put it to paper or screen. They may inspire screenplays, novels, short stories, or even smaller moments that you can include in what stories you are already writing.
How to Write Horror That Lingers
You, the author, create a terrifying monster, the monster terrorizes everyone, and maybe one person survives – maybe. But as the horror landscape changes and grows and reinvigorates, the tropes of the genre are finding root around new, potentially more sustainable qualities, writes Josh Sippie in The Writer magazine. Sure, there are new monsters to create, new motivation for vengeful ghosts, but much of modern horror has found new life in shaking off some traditional, B-movie horror tropes and moving toward multifaceted stories that stick in your craw and don’t let go, ones about friends, family, love. In short, there needs to be more emotional resonance in a horror story than cheap scares.
How to Invite Readers into Your Story World
Our job as writers is to create an authentic story world. We invite readers in through characters, plot, and themes. But the bedrock of your story world is setting. While the emotions and convictions of the character fill the pages and the denouement of plot unravels, setting is the terra firma of your story, says Mary Alice Monroe in Writer's Digest. I write novels that reflect a backdrop of an environmental issue or endangered species. I draw the themes of my novels directly from my setting and that mirrors the development of characters, plot, and even dialogue. Setting plays a pivotal role. How do you create a setting that will enhance the storyline, characters, themes, and even mood of a novel?
How to Create Layers of World Building
Here are some tips on how to create layers of world building from sci fi author Suyi Davies Okungbowa:
How to create intricate contradictions within characters and the plot of your story.
The role narrator and point of view play in the meaning and importance of a story.
Why he used a marketplace as a foundation for building his story’s world.
Suyi is a Nigerian author of fantasy, science fiction and other speculative works inspired by his West-African origins. His new novel, Son of the Storm, is the first in the epic fantasy trilogy called The Nameless Republic, and he is also author of the acclaimed and award-winning godpunk fantasy novel David Mogo. Podcast interview with Gabriela Pereira.
Romance Writers: Do the Plot Twist.
By following the mechanics of writing plot twists and paying attention to the nuts and bolts, you will force your reader to stop mid-scene, turn back a few pages (or chapters), and try to determine how you sneaked in this startling twist without them having a clue. But they had a clue. Several, says author Tammy Lough here.
Here’s the deal with a plot twist: You must outsmart your reader. If you don’t think smart and write smart, your reader will slap your book closed and buy nothing that leaked from your pen again. You have to get this right.
50 Reasons for Your Romance Characters to Be Stuck Together
If you're including romance in your story, even as a subplot, it's important to craft a relationship that is believable. In this 2019 article by Hallmark publishing editor Bryn Donovan, we explore easy ways to get your characters together organically and let sparks fly. Many strong romance story ideas and plots provide a reason for the characters to be together, even though each person has a good reason not to get involved with the other. In some cases, they don’t even like one another … at least at first. This creates the kind of romantic tension that keeps people reading. Read more: 50 Reasons for Your Characters to Be Stuck Together.
How to Write a Popular Cozy Mystery
Why is cozy mystery such a popular genre? What are the important tropes? What are the best ways to market a cozy series? Debbie Young talks about these aspects and more in this interview. Read more here in an interview with Joanna Penn, listen. 1:04 hour.
The Craft and Rules of Worldbuilding in Science Fiction and Fantasy
What are the best ways writers can begin the worldbuilding of their science fiction and fantasy stories? “In our latest article, we explore the craft and rules of worldbuilding and how authors and screenwriters can best create worlds for readers and audiences to explore vicariously through the characters created to inhabit them.” Read more by Ken Miyamoto in Screencraft here.
Writing Coach Clark Offers Tips for Productive Writing in Pandemic Year
Pull up Roy Peter Clark’s website and you’ll see it leads with a reference to him as “America’s writing coach.” The source of that comment isn’t specified, but could likely be claimed by any number of the thousands of writers he has guided through his career at The Poynter Institute in St. Pete and a collection of must-have writing books. Here are some tips for writers.
Make hard facts easier to read. The most important tool for making hard facts simpler to read, Clark says, is right at your fingertips: Shorter words, shorter sentences, and shorter paragraphs at the points of greatest complexity. “When something is complex you divide it up into more digestible sections,” he says, and you make effective use of the period–what the Brits call a full stop. These shorter, digestible chunks slow down the reader’s pace to make complex material understandable.”
The Queen of Black Historical Romance Talks Race, Love & History
If you've picked up a book with very fit, very attractive Black people dressed in 19th century clothing on the cover, there's a good chance it's by Beverly Jenkins. Jenkins is the undisputed queen of the Black 19th century romance. She writes about Freedmen's towns that were founded by the formerly enslaved after the civil war, about teachers teaching children and adults to read (something that was forbidden for the enslaved). Of a doctor who leaves a comfortable life to serve people with little or no access to medical care. A beautiful conductor on the Underground Railroad.
And her books are deeply, meticulously researched; many of them include bibliographies of the history books from which she's drawn. "I cover most of the 19th century because it was vibrant and bittersweet," Jenkins says. Jenkins has written some 40 books; they focus on intelligent, determined Black women who insist on making their way through a world that mostly isn't ready for careerists in skirts. More commentary by Karen Grisgby Bates and podcast (27 minutes).
Three Secrets to Great Storytelling. Start with Cause and Effect.
From Steven James, in Writers Digest: As a novelist and writing instructor, I’ve noticed that three of the most vital aspects of story craft are left out of many writing books and workshops. Even bestselling novelists stumble over them. But they’re not difficult to grasp. In fact, they’re easy.
And if you master these simple principles for shaping great stories, your writing will be transformed forever. Honest. Here’s how to write a story, starting with Cause and Effect Are King. More here.
How to Mold Your Voice to Fit What You’re Writing
Welcome back to our discussion about the writer’s voice! If you’ve worked through the exercises in Oh, Those Voices (Part 1), you should have some idea about the nature of your raw voice. That is your starting point. As writers we need to be able to shape our voice each time we write. And for each thing we write it may be a differently shaped voice. Still yours, but molded to fit what you are writing. And, hopefully, a voice with a personality that readers are drawn to. So often our stories, novels, plays, are rejected because editors say they can’t connect to the voice. Or even, that it’s non-existent. How do you create a voice that’s out there, and pulsing with life? You need to infuse that voice with three things: attitude, authenticity, and authority. More by Shutta Crum for the Florida Writers Association here.
Cozy Mysteries Are Fun Adventures, with a Side of Murder
Cozy mysteries are fun, light-hearted adventures—with a side of murder. A reluctant sleuth in a quaint town filled with zany characters follows a twisty trail of suspects and clues to uncover the unlikely killer. Compared with their more hard-boiled mystery cousins, cozies have surprisingly little blood with their murders, and limited adult situations—with no strong language and no sex. The first full-length cozy mystery appeared in the 1930s, featuring Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple. Christie’s books coined the phrase cozy, and set the stage for all the cozies to come—a highly intelligent, nosy, regular Josephine (I’d say Joe, but the main character is most often female) who solves crimes by relying on their shrewd wit and the local gossip, rather than digging into forensics like a Sherlock Holmes might. They have evolved with the times, but cozies endure as a popular—and fun!—genre. More by Olivia Black in CrimeReads.
6 Lessons Learned from Bridgerton: The Duke and I, by Julia Quinn
From Robert Lee Brewer, Writer’s Digest: There are some pieces of writing advice that are so common that everyone knows them. One such piece of advice is that writers learn to write by reading other writers. So let's take a look at Julia Quinn's romance novel, Bridgerton: The Duke and I (that was originally published as The Duke and I).
If you haven't read this novel yet, please go read it first. Then, come back and see if you agree with these lessons—or if you have additional lessons to share. Consider this your spoiler alert.
Lesson #1: Set the stakes early.
In a 13-page prologue, Quinn shares the birth and early life of Simon Bassett, including the reasons why he comes to hate his father, his father's title, and marriage. It also reveals one of Simon's darkest secrets that will shape the rest of his early life until he meets Daphne Bridgerton. More tips here.
The 4 Types of Time Travel and What They Say about Us and Our World
Time travel is a genre unto itself, one that spans sci-fi, mystery, fantasy, history and more. But there are distinct categories of time travel narratives, each with its own set of rules—and each with a different baked-in outlook.
Getting to a taxonomy of time travel stories, the first question is—who or what is actually time-traveling? Because while the first stories we think of involve spaceships and Deloreans, the oldest time travel stories are stories about…seeing into the future. More on time travel by Dan Frey in CrimeReads.
5 Crime Writers Confess Why California Is an Ideal Setting to Make a Killing
It’s a bright and sunny day in California. Isn’t it always? No dark storminess here. Waves kiss golden beaches, and flowers sprout nonstop. There’s movie-star glitz and glam, and palm trees sway like swooning lovers. The perfect state for murder.
It must be, judging by the sheer volume of mystery novels, detective stories, whodunits, heart-throbbing thrillers and noir nightmares set amid Cali’s pleasantries, thanks to some of the best crime writers around.
Bodies push up happy little daisies in Lee Goldberg’s latest SoCal novel. Gumshoes get in sticky situations on the streets of L.A. in Michael Connelly’s hands. And corpses crop up on San Francisco’s Maiden Lane when John Lescroart holds the pen. The Gold Country offers a mother lode of criminal pay dirt in Penny Warner’s pages, while a friendly NorCal college town brings pastoral carnage to Catriona McPherson’s latest crime novel. More craft secrets in this Orange County Register story.
Short Stories Can Show Your Skills as Your Try Out New Genres
Back in the day, writers used to publish short stories to build their resume. Does that still happen, asks Victoria Griffin. Absolutely! Although books are fun to write and talk about, there's something to be said for the art of short prose.
It's a fantastic opportunity to develop a list of publications and demonstrate your skills as a writer, and it allows you to try out different genres and styles.
Amazon recently launched Vella, a platform for serials, so readers are clearly interested in bite-sized stories (hello, shrinking attention spans).
Where to submit short stories.
Remember, the shorter format requires just as much editing as a long piece—arguably more. Developing a short piece with strong pacing, conflict, and prose is a bigger undertaking than you might think.
Free Reedsy Course: How to Craft a Short Story
In the sport of writing, short stories are a training ground and an arena. It's where many writers hone their skills and get their first taste of glory. “To help you climb the podium and become a gold-medal writer, we've just updated Reedsy's ever-popular guide to short stories
In this four-part guide, we'll show you everything a writer needs to know about short stories,” said a spokesman. Including:
Popular forms of short stories;
A 6-step method for writing impactful short fiction;
A guide to publishing your stories; and
A list of popular magazines to submit to.
Free Reedsy Short Course, How to Craft a Short Story.
5 Ways to Turn Your Story Plot into a Page Turner
What is it about a book that compels readers to stay up far later than they should on a weeknight? What makes a story a so-called page turner? Unputdownable, writes Kim Catanzarite in diyMFA.com. Why is it we have trouble getting to the end of one book, yet we fly through another? The answers have a lot to do with harnessing and manipulating human curiosity: our need to know what happens next, how a difficult situation will “turn out.” Start with Conflict and Tension.
CRIME WRITING
How True Crime Books Are Driven by Tone and Writing Style
Every genre has elements or as we call them in NoveList, appeals, that can define it -- think characters, pace, and tone. TrueCrime books are particularly driven by tone & writing style. What are the most common you'll see when searching for books? The tone can range from sobering to disturbing to suspenseful to bleak. NoveList helps readers find their next favorite book. Ask for it at your local library. Twitter: @NovelistRA.
CRIME STORIES
How authors can learn from law officers. Former FBI agent answers body language questions from Twitter...once again.
Texas: Home to bizarre true crimes (and so many serial killers). CrimeReads.
The Backlist: Revisiting Vicki Hendricks’ Miami Purity with Alex Segura. CrimeReads.
Powerful female characters in crime fiction. CrimeReads.
How brothers Lee and Tod Goldberg turned crime fiction into a family business. Orange County Register.
Sandie Jones: Why I set my new thriller in the world of unscrupulous journalists. CrimeReads.
My First Thriller: James Patterson. CrimeReads.
Key West Food Critic Series Author Describes Ideas from the Headlines
I am not the kind of writer who finds every plot twist, detail of setting, and character description in my imagination. I am like a magpie when it comes to developing a story, shamelessly borrowing from and building on whatever I see and hear, writes Lucy Burdette in CrimeReads. Here’s an example. As I was beginning to work on the 14th book in the Key West food critic mystery series (no title yet, but coming next summer), I had an email from a fan. She said: “I recently finished your new book and enjoyed it very much. Especially the part where you talked about the hippies living down in the Keys in the past. I was one of those people that ended up down there in 1978.”
Immediately I was interested in her story, wondering how I could manage a book with two timelines, an old story from the 70s, probably with a murder, and a current story with one of those former hippies returning to the Keys to figure out what really happened. I asked my reader if I could build on part of her story for my next novel and she agreed. In the end, the book won’t look much like her experience, but her email definitely jumpstarted my story. I know I’m not the only mystery writer who finds plot twists, settings, and even characters in bits of real life.
For Deborah Crombie, a one paragraph story in the Dallas Morning News caught her eye. A couple renovating a house in west Texas had found a baby in their wall. Not a newborn, but an infant about a year old. That little story nagged at her. Why would someone do such a terrible thing? And why had no one noticed a missing child? That germ of an idea became part of the plot of her novel, Water Like a Stone, in which her detective’s sister, a contractor, finds an infant walled into the old stone barn she’s restoring on the banks of the Shropshire Union Canal in Cheshire.
You can’t make this plot up. Ripped from the Florida news headlines: Florida prison in Avon Park confiscates newspapers after deciding puzzle game might be a way to send “coded messages.” TechDirt.
The state of the crime novel, part 1: a roundtable discussion with the Edgar Nominees. CrimeReads.
Beach reads. About murder. At the actual beach. CrimeReads.
Dead Detectives Society. CrimeReads.
Florida Crime Thrillers from the Bizarre to Hilarious
Interstate 75 cuts across southern Florida, through the Everglades, going from the beaches of Fort Lauderdale to the beaches of Naples. It has another name. It’s called “Alligator Alley” for the obvious reason that the knobby-headed reptiles thrive in the swamp on both sides of the eighty-mile roadway, writes crime writer Mike Lawson in CrimeReads. And traveling down this highway, as I have done, it’s not hard to imagine two killers on a dark night dragging a body into the swamp knowing the gators will dispose of the corpse—which is pretty much how my new Joe DeMarco thriller, Alligator Alley, begins. Yes, I saw all these places and when I wrote Alligator Alley, I felt comfortable using some of them as settings in my book, but I also knew that I saw Florida as a tourist and not as someone who’d lived there for many years and knew the state and its people intimately. Fortunately, I was able to compensate for my lack of time on the ground in Florida because so many other books have been set there, books written by truly talented authors, and I’d read many of those authors’ books. Some books you’ll recognize.
6 Basic types of evidence crime writers should know – Jennifer Dornbush. FilmCourage.com
How writers lace truth into their fiction. CrimeReads.
Graphic content: Entering the world of ‘Never Sleep’ with writer Fred van Lente. CrimeReads.
Lawful lawlessness: The rules for writing crime fiction. CrimeReads commentary.
GUMBO FOR WRITERS
AutoCrit Offers Free Story Structure Worksheet from Opening to Climax
The writing guide AutoCrit has created a handy four-page Story Structure Worksheet that helps writers plan their from beginning to climax and resolution. Here is how it starts: Introduce your main character(s) and their current status quo in life. Have an interesting hook to begin–either related to the core plot (what’s to come), or your main character.
How to Use Colons and Semicolons. They Both Show a Relationship.
Do you dread punctuation? Do you look up how to use colons and semicolons every time you dare to put one in a sentence? It’s OK, we won’t judge, writes language and grammar site Word Genius. Even grammarians disagree on the rules regarding semicolons and colons. British and American rules are different, and you’ll often find them swapping colons and semicolons. The one common rule: They both show a relationship.
Root Out These 5 Common Writing Mistakes Before You Publish
Self-editing a piece slated for publishing goes beyond spell-checking your work. These writing mistakes should also be addressed to ensure your writing is clear, vibrant, and effective.
There is nothing worse than reading your published work and finding a huge, glaring mistake you should have caught in editing. Ask me how I know, writes Krystal Craiker for BookBaby. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a blog post, a personal essay, or a novel: there are some mistakes we don’t always catch when we edit our own work.
6 Lessons of Writing for Novelists from a Veteran Who Published 16 Books
One of my favorite quotes about writing is from Somerset Maugham who said, “There are three rules for writing. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.” This has been a very hard truth for a perfectionist like me to accept, writes Wendy Wax in Writer's Digest. In fact, for a good part of my publishing career, I kept hoping that someone with more experience would share a rule or two that would actually make the process easier.
How Imitation in Writing Can Become the Sincerest Form of Originality
Remember when you were a baby? Me neither. Still, I know how I must have first learned language: through imitation, writes author Kyle Massa for ProWritingAid. We develop language by copying others. Writing isn't all that different. We writers learn and improve by imitating other writers. The question is, how do we go from imitation to originality? How do we borrow inspiration from other works and make it our own?
How to Create a Compelling Protagonist in Your Fiction
When writing fiction, we often focus on the plot, and our characters become vehicles for moving the narrative forward. However, if we want readers to become invested in the story, we need to create protagonists who will draw them in, writes Susan Koehler for the Florida Writers Association. So what are some concrete strategies for helping readers identify with our main characters and develop some sort of attachment? How can we be sure readers care about what happens to these fictional friends, and that they stick around to find out?
How to Raise the Stakes in Your Story
As writers, we know that the three basic elements of a fictional story are character, setting, and plot. We spend a lot of time planning and developing each. However, if we want to create a story that really captures readers, we need to be mindful of the stakes, writes Susan Koehler for the Florida Writers Association. When we talk about stakes, we’re referring to what might be gained or lost in the story. The higher the stakes, the more compelling the story. If the protagonist fails to achieve the goal, what will happen? Or in other words…What’s at stake?
When World Building, Do Your Basic Research Before Your First Draft
Ideally, you should conduct enough research to build a strong story world in your mind before you begin your draft, writes Polly Watt, an editor at Fictionary. Failure to do this may mean later halting mid-draft for further research, thus losing momentum. Or worse, you may reach the end of your manuscript and find the whole premise upon which your novel was founded falls apart. Carrying out essential story world research early on is important and necessary. Just don’t get distracted by details unrelated to your story. TIP: Write a story synopsis/overview before deep diving into research, to keep in mind what topics may/may not be relevant, so as to avoid falling into unnecessary research rabbit-holes.
How Dialogue Can Add Complexity, Irony and Emotion to Characters
Writing dialogue provides the subtext, irony, and complexity required for compelling characters and stories. Small words carry heavy loads, when skilfully handled, according to Polly Watt, editor at Fictionary. “There is only one plot: things are not what they seem.”—Jim Thompson. However, writing dialogue precisely and getting the words right is challenging. Let’s examine how to transform filler chat to fulfilling dialogue, starting with the basics. What is dialogue? Dialogue is the reported speech between two or more characters. In prose, it’s distinguished with apostrophes. When writing dialogue, Americans generally use “double” apostrophes, while Brits use ‘single’ ones. Dialogue has many purposes.
The Difference Between Tone and Mood in Your Writing
Mood and tone are essential elements of any written work. Both come from the author’s mind but are also influenced by the reader’s. Both factor into a reader’s experience.
Both make a story more affecting and memorable. But what is the difference between mood and tone, asks Barrie Davenport.
Generally speaking, one is used to create the other. But we’re going beyond that to show examples of both tone and mood in context.
How to Use Stream of Consciousness to Flow Your Thoughts into Writing
Stream of consciousness thinking translates incredibly well to paper, and many writers and authors would probably categorize the act of writing as a sort of meditative practice, writes Gaby Meyer on the writing platform Opyrus. Some express themselves through creative writing; for others, it's journaling or stream of consciousness writing. Keep reading to learn about how a stream of consciousness writing technique can be used as a mindfulness exercise to improve your overall mental health.
7 Writing Tips from Nora Roberts, Who Publishes a Book Every 45 Days
As Nora Roberts, she writes steamy romance novels. As J.D. Robb, she writes a hugely popular romantic thriller series set 50 years in the future. But no matter who she is today, Nora Roberts will always be writing, says columnist Arthur Gutch on Opyrus. She publishes one book on the average of every 45 days, and has kept up that speed for more than a decade. Her books invariably rocket to the top of the bestseller lists, and she shows no indication that she's ever going to stop. Here are some of her best writing tips.
The 4 Essential Elements to Writing Enduring Fiction
The secret to an enduring structure is a solid foundation. While this engineering principle applies to homes and office towers, it’s also applicable to those wanting to write great books. In my twelve-plus years working as a commercial fiction writer, I’ve returned repeatedly to four pillars, which create a platform capable of supporting a novel’s weight. Without these structures in place, a book may feel thin and contrived, or worse, boring. The sturdier the pillars, the better the book. In order of importance, here are the four essential foundational elements of fiction writing and accompanying books that exemplify each pillar, writes thriller author DJ Palmer in CrimeReads.
Jerry Jenkins Offers Self-Editing Checklist for Lean Writing
Top author and writing coach Jerry Jenkins has compiled a three-page checklist for writers to self-edit their manuscript. “It’s a formula for lean writing that impacts your reader,” he says. Sarasota Fiction Writers members discussed a webinar presented by Jenkins recently. Download the checklist here.
15 Things a Writer Should Never Do
Officer Pat Gray suggests these tips: Based on interviews with authors over the years, conferences, editing dozens of issues of Writer’s Digest, and my own occasional literary forays and flails, here are some points of consensus and observations: 15 of them, things anyone who lives by the pen (or seeks to) might consider. Commentary by Zachary Petit in Writer's Digest.
7 Great Thrillers That Play with Form. Think Transcripts, Letters, News Clips.
Show don’t tell. Avoid flashbacks like the plague. Don’t info-dump backstory. Get rid of your prologues. There is no shortage of advice and rules out there for the burgeoning writer, writes Amy Suiter Clarke in CrimeReads. However, as long as each of the above reveals something about your main character in a vivid and interesting way, I would argue those rules can be seen as—in the immortal words of Captain Barbossa—“more what you’d call ‘guidelines.’”
As a reader, one of my favorite ways authors break these rules is by playing with form and incorporating epistolary or other non-prose elements in their fiction.
Authors Discuss Psychological Thrillers, Domestic Suspense in the Pandemic Era
I’m back, and this time we have a power panel of psychological suspense writers, writes Lisa Levy in CrimeReads. I assembled the roundtable to talk about how we are going to talk about domestic suspense during a worldwide lockdown, but our conversation was much more freeform than that. They include sisters Lynne and Valerie Constantine, whose high-toned suspense novels have a splash of Judith Krantz (collectively they’re known by the pen name Liv Constantine); debut novelist Susie Yang; the delightfully creepy Liz Nugent (to clarify: the books, not Liz, are delightfully creepy); rising star Samantha Downing; and the juggernaut Ruth Ware, who is just as funny and quick as you’d want her to be (remember this when you read about how Agatha Christie wrote 12 novels during WWII without mentioning war once).
How to Use Dan Harmon's Story Circle to Plot Your Novel
There are many plot structures you can use to help plot your novel, like the Three-Act Structure, Save the Cat, or the Snowflake Method. One of the most famous plot structures was created by Joseph Campbell after identifying that most myths across time and space follow the same general structure. The Hero’s Journey can apply to all sorts of stories.
But the Hero’s Journey is complicated. If you go by Campbell’s structure, there are 17 stages. It was simplified by Christopher Vogler into 11 stages. Dan Harmon, the creator of the show Rick and Morty, simplified the Hero’s Journey even further. His Story Circle, or Story Embryo, can also fit more types of stories that aren’t necessarily about a hero going on a journey and returning to the mundane world.
Begin at the Beginning of Your Novel? Or Not?
You’ve got this great character and an entertaining plot that may or may not be thoroughly fleshed out. You’ve chosen a setting. You might even have the title ready to go. Then you sit down in front of the blank page or the blank screen and .… nothing, writes Elle E. Ire in the Florida Writers Association. Nothing comes to you. How do you start this massive undertaking? It might even go beyond not knowing. You might feel intimidated by the prospect of the task. So, what to do?
Learn How to Write Faster: 13 Tips for Writers
In today’s self-publishing landscape, authors who publish more frequently get more visibility, writes Dave Chesson of Kindlepreneur. However, you don’t have to write a bajillion words an hour to be a successful author. There are plenty of authors who write a book a year (or fewer) and do just fine. It all depends on your personal goals. What are some things that might slow down your writing speed?
Secrets to Writing a Series: Characters, Setting, Backstory and More
Our first book was never written with the intent of becoming part of a series, but the characters had other ideas. They weren’t done telling their story, so (for my part) I had to figure out a way to keep it all straight going forward. Along the way, I’ve seen other writers experience the challenges of writing a series, so I’m sharing some ideas that worked for me and might help others along the way, writes Anne Hawkinson in the Florida Writers Association.
How Novelists Can Draw on Their Own Lives to Build in Fiction
Sales figures make it clear that memoirs are a huge genre today. But that’s not what I want to talk about by saying “using life as a foundation for art.” Poets already know this secret, so let me address myself to novelists, writes Niki Kantzios in the Florida Writers Association. My topic is: don’t neglect to take the straw of your own life and spin it into fictional gold!
What does that mean? Well, it can means incorporating in your novel things that have actually befallen you. They are real to you.
Mistakes Writers Make: Neglecting Research
On a very basic level, being a writer means you write. Simple as that. Honestly.
But if you want to "find success" as a writer, whether that equates to getting published or becoming a bestselling author or creating social change, then being a writer often means being more than just writing. It means writing, sure, but also editing, revising, connecting, marketing, selling, and researching. In fact, researching may be the second most important skill a writer develops after writing. It's the ability to research that helps a writer understand their topics better. In nonfiction, this increased knowledge can establish a writer as an authority on their subject. In fiction and poetry, research can lead to deeper and richer literature, writes Robert Lee Brewer in Writer's Digest.
It's Not the How That Drives a Narrative. It’s the Why.
How can a mystery weave a tale about the human psyche? Can the unravelling of plot and the unravelling of human desires occur simultaneously in a story?
Those questions were humming away in the background of my mind as I set about writing my debut novel. For authors who write to explore the human condition, they’re often pressing concerns. Characters may need a plot, but plot also needs character—I wanted to tie a story of crime into a tale about the messiness of human psychology, the complexity of private grudges, and all the joy and anguish of foiled desires. Diving into motivation helped me to bring it all together. More by E.J. Beaton in Crime Reads.
Phillip Roth Was His Own Favorite Subject. What’s Left for a Biographer?
Philip Roth, who stopped writing in 2010 and died eight years later at age 85, was not sure if he wanted to be the subject of a biography. He was the narrator of his story. King of sitzfleisch, Roth sat at his desk banging out his legacy 340 days a year, starting in his early 20s, returning in over 30 books to protagonists who resembled him: a son of Newark, secular Jew, younger brother and childless bachelor free to indulge his ego and appetites in a country without pogroms. In two senses, his legacy would be the writing: He never had children, so books would be all that would survive him; and his life was there, between all those covers. Read more by Mark Oppenheimer in The New York Times, listen. 25 minutes.
Thinking Fiction: What’s Next for Novelists? Write about the Pandemic?
Thanks to our collective and often-divisive experiences over the past year, I’ll wager we all agree that 2020 was one heckuva rough ride with long-term consequences yet to be known, writes Carolyn Haley.
The events have introduced new concerns specific to fiction writers, editors, agents, and publishers. For instance, should authors of contemporary fiction include the current pandemic in their stories? Nobody wants to be seen as trivializing or attempting to profit from the pandemic, but it happened, and it has affected the world in many ways, some of which are likely to last. How to factor this into modern novels?
Many contemporary-fiction authors are wondering whether they should finish their works in process (WIPs) and pretend nothing happened, trusting readers to understand and accept; revamp their works to accommodate the “new normal,” which nobody can foresee and is likely to be shifting rapidly for months or years; stop writing their book(s) altogether and wait to see what’s real when the dust settles; or put their WIPs on hold and start new stories set either solidly in pre-coronavirus times or far in the future, when it might be remembered history, like the flu pandemic of 1919. Commentary by editor Carolyn Haley.
The Top 10 Elements of a Book People Want to Read
So, you’ve got a great idea and you want to write a book. Go for it, I say, because these days, anyone can publish a book, writes Helga Schier, PhD in Writer’s Digest. Self-publishing empowers the writer in all of us. Nonetheless, quality still matters. Why? Because we don't just want to publish, we want to publish successfully; we want to publish books people want to read. And that takes more than a good idea. That takes craft.
Talking Shop with Crime Fiction Author Ace Atkins
New York Times bestselling author Ace Atkins gave me the title for this column five years ago. My family and I were on a trip down to Pensacola Beach. I’d just gotten out of coaching and started writing seriously. The only author I “knew” was Ace, writes Eli Cranor for Crime Reads.
We’d met back in 2010 at the Yoknapatawpha Writers’ Workshop in Oxford, Mississippi. Ace and I were former college football players. We hit it off instantly. Once the conference was over, however, we didn’t keep up much.
Fast forward to 2016, and there I was, driving south through Oxford with my wife and kids. I sent Ace a text, asking if he’d be willing to meet up and grab a few drinks. This was his response: “Sure, man. Let’s talk shop.”
Later that night at Ajax Diner, I got a crash course in crime fiction, classic movies, and the publishing business. Since then, Ace has given me sage advice at every turn along the way. He’s one of the good guys, that’s for damn sure. He’s always willing to pay it forward. And, oh yeah, the guy knows a thing or two about “talking shop.”
After 30 Novels, Harlan Coben Remembers His First Thriller
Don’t you just want to hate a successful novelist who never took a creative writing class? None. Not one. Not even an English course in college, asks Rick Pullen in Crime Reads.
Well, there was that one class in Shakespeare, if that counts. Yet the world loves Harlan Coben, with more than 30 novels published along with television, movies and multimedia deals under his belt.
And for all those writers who have struggled to find an agent or publisher, there’s yet another reason to hate him. Coben never set out to become a novelist. He was a poli sci major who played basketball at Amherst, a liberal arts college in its truest sense where students pick their curriculum and where prerequisites are an afterthought.
PLOT
What Will Happen at the Low Point? How to Plot Different Storylines
There’s no getting around it. Every successful story has to have a low point–the place where it all goes wrong, and there’s little hope in sight. Is there any point in struggling on? Highly doubtful, probably not. It would be so much easier at this point to give up and let whatever is going to happen to your characters play itself out on the page. I give up, writes Anne Hawkinson for the Florida Writers Association. So your character says. So you might say. Low points are really hard to write! You’ve brought an amazing cast of characters to life and given them a fascinating world in which to live. Sure, there have been challenges and conflicts, but up to now they’ve muddled through or managed to evade the inevitable (for the most part, they haven’t been successful – that’s what leads them to the low point). Now it’s staring you, the writer, in the face. You have to do this!
Writing Coach Jerry Jenkins: How to Write Compelling Plot Twists
Remember that novel that kept you on the edge of your seat, only to thrill you with a plot twist you never expected? You immediately told everyone you know that they had to read it. For me it was Scott Turow’s debut novel Presumed Innocent.
Wouldn’t you love to write a book like that, asks best-selling author and writing coach Jerry Jenkins. Plot twists can be tricky to write. Some actually cheapen a novel by being predictable, cheesy, or confusing. Others appear out of nowhere so the reader feels bamboozled rather than intrigued.
For a deeper dive into writing a plot twist, and so you can avoid common pitfalls, check out my blog post, How to Write Plot Twists. You’ll learn:
What a plot twist is
How to write one that works
12 examples to inspire you.
8 tropes to avoid.
Related: Jerry Jenkins Self-Editing Checklist.
101 Great Plot Twists to Elevate Your Script or Novel
Is there anything better than a great plot twist? Twists, turns, big reveals, and surprise endings are some of the most coveted aspects of a great story, whether they are found within movies, TV shows, or novels. Plot twists break the monotony of conventional plots and stories, which is why script readers, audiences, and publishers love them, writes Ken Miyamoto in Screencraft. His 101 great plot twists.
Make Sure You Wrap Up the Loose Ends in Your Plot
I wrote recently about reader expectations, and here’s a biggie. Although a certain ambiguity may be thought-provoking, basically anyone who picks up your book has the right to find her questions answered, writes Niki Kantzios in the Florida Writers Association. This embraces all the areas where any mystery has existed: the who, what, when, where, how, and why of the story. In a classic whodunnit, the final exposition lays out all of these answers for the central mystery. But any novel needs a satisfying set of solutions to the questions it has raised—and not just elements of the main plot. Here are a few sorts of oblique mysteries you may have opened without even thinking about it. Forgive me if I use the murder mystery as an example; these reflections will apply sui generis to any genre you write.
The Goldilocks Syndrome: Presenting Just Enough Information for Your Readers
The saying goes, “Tell your readers everything they need to know and nothing they don’t need.” Simple enough: make it “juuust right,” like Baby Bear’s porridge. But how do you know how much is enough…or too much? I wish I could give an easy answer. If we take a look together at the possibilities, I bet you can come up with an answer on your own that fits your writing style, writes Niki Kantzios for the Florida Writers Association.
5 Ways to Turn Your Story Plot into a Page Turner
What is it about a book that compels readers to stay up far later than they should on a weeknight? What makes a story a so-called page turner? Unputdownable, writes Kim Catanzarite in diyMFA.com. Why is it we have trouble getting to the end of one book, yet we fly through another? The answers have a lot to do with harnessing and manipulating human curiosity: our need to know what happens next, how a difficult situation will “turn out.” Start with Conflict and Tension.
What’s Your Story’s Focus? Plot vs. Characters.
“Focus” in storytelling refers to which arc—plot or character—gets more attention, has a bigger impact in our story, and/or is more closely tied to our story’s essence. Even if our story is fairly balanced, either our plot arc or our character arc is likely to have more of the focus in the story, writes Jami Gold in Writers Helping Writers. The focused arc might have a bigger influence on what the story feels like it’s about. Or it might involve a bigger overall change than the other arc. Or it might simply be the main thrust of the story while the other arc is more like a subplot.
How to Weave Back Story and Avoid a Data Dump
A question was recently posed to me about a creative way to insert facts and information from the past into a story. Readers don’t want an information dump, so how does a writer provide the pertinent details without a lot of backstory, asks Anne Hawkinson for the Florida Writers Association. After I offered up a few suggestions (I hope they helped!), I thought some might be worth sharing. When you invite a character from the past into your story, they will naturally bring along experiences and information that they can share with your present-day characters (and the reader). Where are they from? What are they wearing? How do they speak? Perhaps there’s a striking resemblance to someone in the present, and they may have a story to share about where they’ve been/what they’ve been doing until the moment they showed up on the doorstep (maybe no one knew they existed until now). He/she may be the result of a forbidden love affair that no one knew about. Why show up now? Are they a long-lost friend? An enemy hell-bent on seeking revenge? Invite them in with all of their physical and emotional baggage!
What Is Plot? 6 Elements of Plot and How to Use Them
In this guide, we’re going to talk about plot, a broad overview of what plot is and you’ll learn the six elements of plot that make story structure entertaining and memorable, write Joe Bunting and Ruthanne Reid in this excerpt of the book, The Write Structure. To do this, we’ll look at a few examples of how these elements work in bestselling stories, and we’ll touch on story arcs, the different shapes a plot of a story can take, and how you can use your new understanding of plot in your own stories.
How to Build Compelling Individual Scenes
Want to know a secret? I’ll tell you two. They’re both techniques about writing a story’s settings. Its locations. The first technique you may already be using. If so, bravo! The second, however, is not well understood.
Setting is such an important element of our craft, writes novelist and coach Barbara Kyle here. From Harry Potter’s enchanted Hogwarts to Dune’s parched planet of Arrakis, the overall setting is often indispensable to the tale. In fact, writers of fantasy and science fiction consider it so crucial, they call it “world building.” Here, though, I want to talk about the settings of individual scenes. Read the first chapter of her Page Turner writing guide.
SCENES/SETTING
How to Show, Not Tell: 6 Strategies
Diane Callahan: “In this video, I’ll explore the origins of this advice and why showing appeals to audiences on an emotional level. Using examples from popular works and advice from published authors, I’ll outline six strategies you can use to produce stronger writing:
1. Use evidence to support your claims.
2. Replace the abstract with the concrete.
3. Substitute vague descriptions with specific sensory details.
4. Avoid relying too much on body language.
5. Show emotion through dialogue.
6. Filter observations through the narrative voice.
Behind the scenes notes: Show, Don't Tell.
Here's the short bio version: “I have a Bachelor of Arts in Honors English and psychology, with minors in creative writing and professional writing, from The Ohio State University. For over seven years, I have worked in numerous editing and writing positions, with my most recent positions involving developmental editing and plot outlining for an independent publishing company, as well as creative writing and copy editing projects. You can check out the long version on my About Me page.”
Does Your Story Need More Conflict? Build It into the Setting.
Every writer’s mission is to pen a story that draws readers in, offering familiarity when it comes to certain genre expectations while also delivering something fresh so to be distinctive and memorable. This is how to cultivate a loyal--and, fingers crossed, rabidly obsessed--reading audience, says writing coach and author Angela Ackerman.
But heck, there’s a lot of stories out there. And didn’t someone say there’s only so many plot forms to choose from? Is “fresh” even possible? YES.
When you know where to look, you can find a kaleidoscope of unique ideas and apply them to any type of story to transform it. A story’s secret weapon: Conflict.
How to Balance Showing vs. Telling. What’s Too Little?
Among a number of other things, fiction writers are urged to “show, don’t tell.” Why, asks Jack Smith in The Writer. Because readers relate to the world around them with their five senses, and if you want them to experience the world of your characters, you’ve got to place them in that world – viscerally. Showing can come in different forms. It can be imagery that allows us to see, touch, or taste, or it can be scenic treatment that allows us to experience character conflicts firsthand.
But must you show everything? Some telling is needed, isn’t it?
Second, how do you go about showing – and at what point in your writing process do you manage this?
Third, what’s too little? What’s too much? To answer these questions, we’ve turned to several seasoned fiction writers of both short fiction and novels.
When to Stop Researching and Start Writing Fiction
The first draft of my work-in-progress is 75% cat barf. I can practically hear all of you now, making soothing tut-tut noises designed to make me feel better about myself, but it’s OK, really, writes Yi Sun Lai in The Writer. I know it’s a mess, because it was only when I was 75% of the way through writing it that I realized I was holding myself accountable to something that I’d always intended to be a guide, and it had become a prison. I’m talking about research. The work in question is a work of historical fiction, pegged to a polar expedition that took place in 1914. I had traveled to London, Cambridge, and Antarctica for it, and the specter of Ernest Shackleton was looming over me, creating a miasma of fug with the pipe that’s in his mouth in lots and lots of photographs. I’d seen a couple of letters from Shackleton, and the memory of his horrible penmanship overtook everything, making me write dialogue I only thought would come from the mouth of someone who would have such illegible handwriting.
5 Factors to Master Fast Pacing in Action Scenes
It’s finally time for the big face-off and your reader is at the edge of their seat. Having the correct pacing in action scenes is essential. Otherwise, your big moment will flop and the worst thing will happen: Your reader will be disappointed. Gasp! There are several tricks to making sure your pacing is on point in this critical moment. Here are my top five tricks, writes Arielle Haughee in the Florida Writers Association.
Introducing the Snapshot Theory. The Story Outside Your Story Is a Story Too.
Many writers have heard Ernest Hemingway’s “Iceberg Theory” of writing from Death in the Afternoon. It goes like this:
If a writer of prose knows enough of what he is writing about he may omit things that he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them. The dignity of movement of an iceberg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water. A writer who omits things because he does not know them only makes hollow places in his writing.
Hemingway’s sentiment makes a good deal of sense: You can’t include everything your reader might want to know in the story, writes Josh Sippie in The Writer. There just isn’t enough room – and, worse, you then leave the reader with no work to do on their part, nothing to infer. And readers like to infer; they like to participate in the story. If you, the writer, know the details that aren’t explicitly stated, you let readers read into things – and that’s what they’re here to do, right?
5 Tips for Setting a Novel in a Place You Don’t Know Well
They say “write what you know,” which is why most of my novels are set in California. I know the beaches and mountains and deserts of my home state, writes Kim Hooper in Writer's Digest. I know what the air feels like, what it smells like. Even if I don’t include all these details in my stories, they are still part of the story. Setting is a character in itself. When I started thinking about my fifth novel, which centers around a shooting in a small-town bar, I knew it would take place outside of California. At first, I thought it would be somewhere in the Midwest. But then I visited a friend in Boise and I thought It’s here. This is where it is.
How to Use Food to Build Characters and Scenes in Your Fiction
As a writer, I use food in my scenes and plots for specific reasons – to either foster community or show the lack of it. To comfort, to heal, to withhold, writes Devon Ellington in The Writer. How characters share or don’t share food and the place food holds in their lives are important. They reflect my own changing relationship to food. I grew from not caring about food and only eating the minimum when necessary to enjoying the planning, preparation, serving, and sharing of food and using all the senses in each aspect.
John D. MacDonald Had a Sense of Place with Travis McGee on Siesta Key
It’s hard to find an author with a deeper connection to place than the one John D. MacDonald enjoyed. Through his standalone novels and in his long-running Travis McGee series, MacDonald’s characters traversed just about every inch of South Florida and its surrounding waters. (McGee was based out of slip F-18 at Bahia Mar Marina, Fort Lauderdale, in the Busted Flush, a houseboat he won in a card game; not bad for a “salvage consultant.”) Florida was more than a setting for MacDonald. As Craig Pittman wrote for CrimeReads, it was a lifelong passion, and concerns over the state’s environmental degradation and overdevelopment were woven deep into MacDonald’s fiction, just as in his private life he helped organize the local community against damaging land deals. It was with that legacy in mind that I used to like looking in on MacDonald’s homes, one in particular: 1430 Point Crisp Road in Sarasota, Florida.
Point Crisp is a spit of land poking out into the bay off Siesta Key, in Sarasota. MacDonald lived there with his with his wife. More commentary by Dwyer Murphy in CrimeReads.
DIALOGUE
11 Rules on How to Punctuate Dialogue in Your Fiction
Writing a good story is hard enough without having to worry about your dialogue punctuation.
Our goal in this post is to answer any questions you might have about punctuating dialogue.
One of the main issues with this is knowing the difference between a dialogue tag and an action beat. When to use a comma in dialogue, by Barrie Davenport.
Dialogue Can Add Complexity, Irony and Emotion to Characters
Writing dialogue provides the subtext, irony, and complexity required for compelling characters and stories. Small words carry heavy loads, when skilfully handled, according to Polly Watt, editor at Fictionary. “There is only one plot: things are not what they seem.”—Jim Thompson. However, writing dialogue precisely and getting the words right is challenging. Let’s examine how to transform filler chat to fulfilling dialogue, starting with the basics. What is dialogue? Dialogue is the reported speech between two or more characters. In prose, it’s distinguished with apostrophes. When writing dialogue, Americans generally use “double” apostrophes, while Brits use ‘single’ ones. Dialogue has many purposes.
How to Find Your Narrator’s Voice and Stay Consistent for Fiction
We were born with a voice. So why is it many manuscripts get rejected because an agent/editor says there’s no voice? Then we authors go off frantically searching for our voice as though we’d misplaced it somewhere. First, Study your writing. Pull out old journals where you may have confided something just for yourself and no one else’s eyes. What kind of voice comes through when you’re just writing for yourself? Are you angry? Full of self-pity? Sad? Frightened? Sarcastic? What kind of phrasing do you use? Short unadorned sentences, or long sentences that riff with asides, explanations, or descriptions? What kinds of words do you use—scholarly, plain, poetic? More commentary by Shutta Crum in Florida Writers Association here.
The truth of the matter is that you have a voice. It’s just that, often, an author’s voice doesn’t work for a number of reasons. Either the voice is so faint it can’t be heard, or it’s unsettled and can’t be pinned down, or it’s inappropriate to the subject matter, or it’s just plain grating on a reader’s nerves.
Writing Mistakes: Misusing Dialogue Tags
The Writer's Digest team has witnessed many writing mistakes over the years, so we started this series to help identify them for other writers (along with correction strategies), writes Moriah Richard. Here are some tips to avoid writers misusing dialogue tags. Writer's Digest tips.
REVISION
Before You Mail the Manuscript, Murder Your Darlings.
Writing coach Roy Peter Clark: Did my reading of writing books over the last half-century help me become a better writer?
To help answer that question, I decided to write a book about writing books. That produced Murder Your Darlings: And Other Gentle Writing Advice from Aristotle to Zinsser. Word nerds may recognize in my title an allusion to a famous tip from British scholar Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, known to his students at Cambridge as Q. Hence, a Q-tip.
In a 1914 lecture, and then in a book, Q encouraged his students to avoid falling in love with their own creativity. Write down your clever phrases by all means, he told them, if only to get them out of your system. But before you mail the manuscript, “Murder your darlings.”
In the first chapter of my book, I reveal how helpful this advice was to me in 2017 at a time I was drafting a commencement speech, one that would be delivered to more than 10,000 in a basketball arena. The original draft, monstrous in length, contained eight anecdotes about my mother, a colorful and inspirational character. Revisions, about a dozen of them, reduced that number to five then three then one then none. I murdered my mommy.
Roy Peter Clark is senior scholar at the Poynter Institute, one of the most prestigious schools for journalists in the world. He has taught writing at every level -- from schoolchildren to Pulitzer Prize-winning authors -- for more than forty years. A writer who teaches and a teacher who writes, he has authored or edited nineteen books on writing and journalism, including The Art of X-Ray Reading, How to Write Short, Writing Tools, The Glamour of Grammar, and Help! for Writers. He lives in St. Petersburg, where he is considered a garage-band legend.
Tips for Writers and Storytellers from Coach Roy Peter Clark
I have worked with many public writers during the pandemic and have discovered that most have the same aspirations. They want to improve in their craft and sharpen their sense of mission and purpose, says author and writing coach Roy Peter Clark of the Poynter Institute in St. Pete. As writers, they want to learn these four things:
How to make hard facts easy reading.
How to make important things interesting so that readers will pay attention.
How to find an authentic writing voice that, while distinctive, is in harmony with the enterprise they represent.
How to tell good stories in the public interest.
The rest of this essay is devoted to that last item — storytelling.
Most Editors Use Track Changes. What Authors Should Know
Most editors who review a manuscript that is in a Microsoft Word file will use the Track Changes function to revise an author’s work. These corrections can range from adjusting margins and indents to inserting commas and deleting extra words. Editors often use Track Changes as proof of their labor and so the author can go through the manuscript and decide herself which changes to make, as she may disagree with the editor’s style style or correction. Making such corrections also can be instructive for the author. As an author, you’ll want to be familiar with using Track Changes so that you can get your manuscript into a publishable form.
How to Stitch Your Story Together. And, How to Track Big Revisions
I shared some ideas about how we can stitch pieces of our story together after we make big revisions, writes paranormal author Jami Gold. As I mentioned, anytime we make a lot of changes to our story, we have to rip our story apart to fit in the new stuff, so we risk plot holes, missing transitions, uneven tones, etc. My post introduced the Resident Writing Coach article I’d written for Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi’s Writers Helping Writers site, which shared a few bullet points to help us find those stitches. Here are tips to track how you make plot revisions or character revisions.
The 8 Best Features of Google Docs for Writers
Ready to upgrade from paper and pen? For writers, finding a tech tool that delivers a seamless writing experience with all the benefits of an app can be hard to do. Luckily, there's Google Docs, an excellent tool for beginner writers and seasoned pros alike, writes Brenna Miles on the site MakeUseOf. To get started with Google Docs, all you have to do is open the app on your desktop or mobile device, start a new document, and get to writing. Yet, if you want to take your writing experience to the next level, you'll want to try these hacks.
How to Write Cinematically. Write Like It Feels Like a Movie.
The following is excerpted from Roy Peter Clark and The Art of X-Ray Reading: How the Secrets of 25 Great Works of Literature Will Improve Your Writing and first appeared in Lit Hub’s Craft of Writing newsletter—sign up for book and reading and writing newsletters here.
It was author David Finkel who taught me to “report cinematically.” This was key, he argued, to writing a story that feels like a movie, using the variety of camera angles available to the cinematographer, from wide establishing shots to extreme close-ups. Creating such a story, writing coach Donald Murray advised, requires the author to “alter the distance between the writer and the subject matter.” Out in the field, this means standing on a hilltop to observe and describe the battlefield below, then getting close enough to read the tattoo on the back of a soldier’s hand. These days, such images can be captured in still shots and videos via the cell phone. For the dutiful writer, a notebook is the best kind of camera.
Where did the creators of cinema earn to write cinematically? There were precedents in the history of the visual arts, from cave paintings to tapestries to landscape paintings to portraits to photographs. Some of these showed scenes from a distance, others from close up. But where did those visual artists learn the master tricks of distance, perspective, and point of view?
Tips to Tighten Your Fiction: Where and How to Cut.
Stephen King shares in On Writing that a submitted story of his got this scribbled rejection from an editor: 2nd draft = 1st draft – 10%. King said that single comment changed the way he revised his fiction. The question many writers reasonably have in response to this advice are: What, how much, and where do I cut? Of course, one should start by cutting all unneeded scenes, characters, actions, and dialogue. But if you’ve done that and your fiction still feels flabby? What then? Tips from author Ryan Van Cleave in The Writer magazine.
Why Memoir Writers May Be Among the Bravest by Sharing Personal Stories
I think that memoirists in particular are some of the bravest of the writers because of the very personal nature of the content. You’re mining your personal business and you are sharing it with the rest of the world, and that takes courage. So, Bravo! I assume that I’m talking to people who are interested in being published, says Jodi Fodor in a recent Reedsy webinar on memoirs archived here. She is a developmental and line editor for Reedsy and several NYC publishers and literary agencies. She works in multiple genres but has a soft spot for memoir writers who "so courageously jump into the fire.” Having written professionally since the age of 21, Jodi has taught writing to students ages seven to 97 in private lessons, workshops, and university classes.
MEMOIRS
How to write a memoir: turn your personal story into a successful book. Reedsy.
Reedsy's free downloadable memoir template.
Author Adrienne Brodeur on what keeps her writing about family secrets. NPR.
How to Write a Memoir: Examples and a Step-by-Step Guide
We start the road to writing a memoir when we realize that a story in our lives demands to be told, writes Zining Mok in Writers.com. As Maya Angelou once wrote, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” How to write a memoir? At first glance, it looks easy enough—easier, in any case, than writing fiction. After all, there is no need to make up a story or characters, and the protagonist is none other than you. Still, memoir writing carries its own unique challenges, as well as unique possibilities that only come from telling your own true story. Let’s dive into how to write a memoir by looking closely at the craft of memoir writing, starting with a key question: exactly what is a memoir?
It’s Celebrity Memoir Season. How to Tell a Ghost Writer
Brian Kachka, book editor, LA Times: it’s best to think of ghostwriting not as a binary, but a spectrum. Some figures — especially more established ones — will simply speak into a tape recorder and send the writer off to work. Some insist on preserving every malapropism as their own voice. But the majority live in the in-between. “I assume in most cases that there’s somebody else involved,” says Times culture columnist Mary McNamara, who reviewed Anderson’s Love, Pamela as well as Harry’s Spare. She thought the former “was much more raw and a bit all over the place” than traditional celebrity memoirs. “I feel like she wanted to sound like herself talking, as opposed to the Harry biography, where you very much felt a writer involved.”
A professional writer can add context, fix memories in time and, of course, weave a story together. But a memoirist on a tear can feel more intimate. “I think there is an acceptance of less perfect writing or organization in exchange for a feeling of authenticity,” McNamara says.
This week, Fox told interviewer Jia Tolentino, “I sent my editor at Simon & Schuster the first draft, and he was, like, Great! And I was, like, Wait a minute. Like, no. So I went off and reread it and edited it. … I was really hoping someone else would just make it better.”
This led journalist Choire Sicha to post on X: “Julia Fox has learned the dark open secret of publishing which is that book editors don’t edit.” Whether you believe or agree with Fox and Sicha, a universal truth emerges. Authenticity may be the coin of the realm, but everyone could use an editor.
7 Strategies to Promote Sales of Your Indie Memoir. Seek Your Tribe.
Writing a memoir is a deeply personal experience. It takes a tremendous amount of self-reflection to craft your life experiences into an engaging story, according to Self-Publishing Relief. Now that you’ve completed that richly rewarding journey and self-published your book, it’s time to think about ways to share your memoir with readers. The marketing experts at Self-Publishing Relief recommend promoting your memoir using these specific strategies.
In Memoir, Her Grandpa Had Starring Role. Not Bonnie & Clyde.
Lauren Hough has been a bouncer and a barista, a cable guy and a member of the military. But in a recent piece for Texas Highways, the acclaimed essayist shows off another role: eagle-eyed excavator of the past, reports Nieman Storyboard.
Hough’s 2021 debut memoir/essay collection, “Leaving Isn’t the Hardest Thing,” won praise for its profane humor (NPR) and coruscating honesty (The Washington Post). She made literary news in March when the book was blocked from consideration for a Lambda Literary Award after Hough defended a novel that some considered transphobic. Now, for “Getaway Driver,” she travels to Shamrock, Texas, to trace her ancestors’ brief but memorable encounter with the outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. The outlaws, later portrayed by Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty in the 1967 blockbuster “Bonnie and Clyde,” make an appearance in Hough’s essay; gangster John Dillinger has a cameo. But the piece doesn’t hand any of them a starring role. Instead it’s a meditation on place and family, and most specifically on Hough’s grandfather. “Grandpa Chuck” had Alzheimer’s.
Writing Genre: Bending Stories that Integrate Romance, Fantasy, and Mystery. Commentary in CrimeReads.
Every Family Has a Story to Tell. How to Document Yours.
History, to paraphrase author and activist James Baldwin, lives within us. Baldwin's commentary: Unnameable Objects, Unspeakable Crimes here. We are vessels for narratives derived from our collective culture, ancestors and lived experiences. And that's why it's so important to capture them. Learning the stories of those closest to us not only enables us to better understand the trajectory of their lives but also helps us make sense of our own. How to record oral family history.
Kim Hawley, the founder of Strength Through Story, learned this when she interviewed her father, Jim Scherman. The conversation started off as what she describes as a "fairly normal" exchange. But as it deepened, her father revealed he had experienced mental health challenges following the birth of Kim's older brother. "I couldn't believe it. He told me he may have had postpartum anxiety and explained that was why he had been [briefly] hospitalized.
Until that moment, she had not known that the counsel her dad had given her during her own postpartum depression was the direct result of what he had learned in the psych unit during his hospitalization. "It was," she says, "a full circle moment."
How StoryCorps Can Help Families, and Memoir Writers, to Record Memories
For more than a year, pandemic conditions have disrupted family gatherings and traditions. This year, your Thanksgiving and Christmas may look more like it used to, with everyone around the dinner table, or it may look more like a family reunion–virtual connections made from miles apart. “However you’re coming together, we invite you to surround your holiday tables with open ears and open hearts as part of StoryCorps’ seventh annual Great Thanksgiving Listen, when we encourage people of all ages to speak meaningfully with elders, friends, and mentors,” said a StoryCorps spokesman. “We even have printable placemats with conversation-starting questions everyone can use no matter where they are. We have easy instructional videos on how to use each application, plus tips on how to prepare for one-on-one conversations and how to listen with intention, Great Questions to ask, and an online archive of stories to inspire you. Use StoryCorps App to document in-person conversations or, if you’re connecting from a distance, use the online StoryCorps Connect platform.”
How to write a memoir: turn your personal story into a successful book. Reedsy.
Reedsy's free downloadable memoir template.
Author Adrienne Brodeur on what keeps her writing about family secrets. NPR.
In these thrillers, the setting becomes a pivotal character. CrimeReads.
How Novelists Can Draw on Their Own Lives to Build in Fiction
Sales figures make it clear that memoirs are a huge genre today. But that’s not what I want to talk about by saying “using life as a foundation for art.” Poets already know this secret, so let me address myself to novelists, writes Niki Kantzios in the Florida Writers Association. My topic is: don’t neglect to take the straw of your own life and spin it into fictional gold!
What does that mean? Well, it can means incorporating in your novel things that have actually befallen you. They are real to you.
Introducing the Snapshot Theory. The Story Outside Your Story Is a Story Too.
Many writers have heard Ernest Hemingway’s “Iceberg Theory” of writing from Death in the Afternoon. It goes like this:
If a writer of prose knows enough of what he is writing about he may omit things that he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them. The dignity of movement of an iceberg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water. A writer who omits things because he does not know them only makes hollow places in his writing.
Hemingway’s sentiment makes a good deal of sense: You can’t include everything your reader might want to know in the story, writes Josh Sippie in The Writer. There just isn’t enough room – and, worse, you then leave the reader with no work to do on their part, nothing to infer. And readers like to infer; they like to participate in the story. If you, the writer, know the details that aren’t explicitly stated, you let readers read into things – and that’s what they’re here to do, right?
How Novelists Can Draw on Their Own Lives to Build in Fiction
Sales figures make it clear that memoirs are a huge genre today. But that’s not what I want to talk about by saying “using life as a foundation for art.” Poets already know this secret, so let me address myself to novelists, writes Niki Kantzios in the Florida Writers Association. My topic is: don’t neglect to take the straw of your own life and spin it into fictional gold!
What does that mean? Well, it can means incorporating in your novel things that have actually befallen you. They are real to you.
How to Write a Memoir. Start by Narrowing Your Focus.
If you’re planning to write a memoir, you’ll want to take your readers on a journey they won’t forget. In this post, we share tips for writing a memoir well, as well as share plenty of memoir examples, writes Brooke Warner in The Write Life.
Here’s how to write a memoir. First, narrow your focus.
Memoirs: Writing for the Family and More
Did your parents tell you about their growing-up days? Would your children and grandchildren like to read about how they coped during the Great Depression? The Second World War? What their teenage years were like, asks Peggy Sias Lantz for the Florida Writers Association. What do you suppose your children and grandchildren would like to know about your own growing-up days? Do they know where you were born? Where you went to school? What you and your family and your friends did together? I’m talking about writing for the future family about the past family. These memories are important to generations beyond our own. Since we’re the writers in the family, I think it behooves us to record them.
Dig in Your Thumb Drive or Drawer: How to Make Old Writing New
With social distancing and sequestering still high on the priority ladder, it might be a good time to dig through the closet/flash drive and unearth that writing project you’ve been meaning to finish or thought was so bad that it was beyond repair. Dust Them Off! Pull those unfinished projects out and see which one jumps to the head of the line, begging for your attention. Give it a new, fresh view and the attention it deserves to get it. More tips by Anne Hawkinson of the Florida Writers Association.
Memoirs: Luis Alberto Urrea on family stories and the work of witnessing. Lit Hub.
The ethics of writing hard things in family memoirs. Lit Hub.
Growing industry makes memoir-writing more accessible. PBS Newshour.
Memoir: Connecting the Human Experience
From SFW president Mark Mathes: Reading a memoir can be a powerful experience as four authors shared their struggles to tell their stories at the Tennessee Williams New Orleans Literary Festival. My takeaways from their March 26 presentation: How memoirists stay true to their stories while wrestling with privacy, ego, faulty memories, aging, discrimination and more.
Struggles you may face in your memoir.
Read a previously unpublished story by Tennessee Williams. Lit Hub
Why you maybe shouldn’t write a memoir. The Atlantic.
Writing memoir scenes that work: choosing what stays in your memoir and what goes. Writer's Digest.
The power of story: historical graphic memoirs to educate and enlighten. Book Riot.
Rebecca Carroll and Jeannine Ouellette on the art of memoir. Lit Hub.
Memoir Writers Realize That Memory Is Like a Pinball Machine
The following is an excerpt from Mary Karr’s The Art of Memoir and appeared in Lit Hub’s The Craft of Writing newsletter—sign up here.
At unexpected points in life, everyone gets waylaid by the colossal force of recollection. One minute you’re a grown-ass woman, then a whiff of cumin conjures your dad’s curry, and a whole door to the past blows open, ushering in uncanny detail. There are traumatic memories that rise up unbidden and dwarf you where you stand. But there are also memories you dig for: you start with a clear fix on a tiny instant, and pick at every knot until a thin thread comes undone that you can follow back through the mind’s labyrinth to other places. We’ve all interrogated ourselves—It couldn’t have been Christmas because we had shorts on in the snapshot. Such memories start by being figured out, but the useful ones eventually gain enough traction to haul you through the past. Memory is a pinball in a machine—it messily ricochets around between image, idea, fragments of scenes, stories you’ve heard. Then the machine goes tilt and snaps off. But most of the time, we keep memories packed away. I sometimes liken that moment of sudden unpacking to circus clowns pouring out of a miniature car trunk—how did so much fit into such a small space?
Memoirs: Luis Alberto Urrea on family stories and the work of witnessing. Lit Hub.
The ethics of writing hard things in family memoirs. Lit Hub.
Growing industry makes memoir-writing more accessible. PBS Newshour.
Mary Louise Kelly on her memoir It. Goes. So. Fast. The Year of No Do-Overs. NPR.
What’s in my eulogy? The New Yorker.
Author’s Memoir Is Banned from Florida Prisons and She’s Proud
When an author's book gets banned or confiscated, one might imagine that the writer might be frustrated, or even angry. But when Keri Blakinger received word that the Florida state prison system placed her book, Corrections in Ink, on a temporary ban, she tweeted, "Honestly, I AM SO PROUD." Blakinger, who is a journalist covering prisons for The Marshall Project, was really responding tongue-in-cheek — an ironic response to a truly head-scratching situation, reports NPR.
Memoirs: When You Get Stuck, Write What Excites You
For years I’d resisted writing a memoir. Like many writers from troubled families, I was often congratulated for “the material” of my life and urged to write it all down, writes author Maud Newton in Lit Hub. And sure, I grew up in a weird family, an extreme family, a difficult and sometimes abusive family, but I couldn’t envision writing an entire book about it without a great deal of distance from my experience, without the freewheeling transformative tools of fiction. It wasn’t that I shrank from the idea of sharing the truth of my experience. I’d written personal essays, and I’ve always been a candid writer. But I imagined that writing a book of pure autobiography would feel like being locked in a tiny room with my past: probably boring, possibly injurious, absolutely depressing. I wanted to write about things I didn’t know or understand yet—and of course memoir allows for this, as I knew at some level from many years of reading and enjoying people’s books about their own lives, and as I know much more.
Writing Travel Memoir, Fear of Judgment, Fear of Failure
What do you need to consider when writing travel memoir? How fear of judgment and fear of failure are real issues even for established authors, and more in these selected excerpts from interviews. More in these selected excerpts from interviews with J.F. Penn around Pilgrimage: Lessons Learned from Solo Walking Three Ancient Ways. Podcast and text here. 22:46.
PITCHING EDITORS
2 Minutes to Catch Their Attention
You have maybe two minutes before an agent or junior editor scans your submission cover letter. They’re looking for a reason to say no.
Here are some tips for authors from the other side of the editor’s desk. I’ve read thousands of pitches for books, puzzles, columns, comic strips, editorial cartoons, news services and more.
As editor of international syndication at Tribune in Chicago, I faced as many as a hundred submissions each week. I tried to send a short, personal rejection letter to as many creators as possible.*
As editor at Pelican Publishing Company, New Orleans, the largest independent regional publisher in the Southeast, the submissions were fewer yet took more time. These days you may not even get a form letter acknowledging the rejection. Tips from Mark Mathes here.
HISTORICAL FICTION
10 Dos and Don’ts of How to Write Historical Fiction That Sells
I knew I had to do it. I’d self-published seven books, had my eighth accepted by a publisher, and been commissioned to write another by a second publisher. So I quit writing, writes Verity Bright in Writers Digest. After years of writing nonfiction, I could no longer deny that my heart lay in writing fiction. Which meant I had to abandon my career as a nonfiction writer just as it was taking off or I would never have the courage to make the switch. But having followed my heart, I knew there was something else I had to do now: Follow my head. Writing had always been a means of earning money and if it was to continue to be so, then I needed to find a way to write what I loved, but also what sold.
Help Readers Solve the Mystery in Literary Fiction
Readers instinctively know how to approach mysteries. They don’t instinctively know how to approach literary fiction, writes Susan Speranza in CrimeReads. So many times, I read the reviews in this genre that run something like this: “Maybe I missed the point of this story …” or “I’m not sure what the theme is”, or “What…did I just read?!” They don’t understand that they need to look for the clues the author has left behind in the images and in the subtext, the same way they would do if they were reading a mystery. If they follow the path the author has cleared for them, if they look beneath the surface of the symbols and ponder the words, the setting, and the characters, they will understand that nothing is as it appears to be. Readers will then readily solve literary fiction’s mystery hidden in the subtext, and arriving at the end, despite time and cultural differences, they too will say: Yes, I see what you see, I know what you know, I feel what you feel.
Advice | I Wrote a Book in 30 Days. And You Can, Too.
There is no Easy Street when it comes to writing your book, but this may help you finish. Advice from the Chronicle of Higher Education.
CHARACTERS
Characters Propel Your Story
Mark Mathes: In fiction and nonfiction, characters propel a story. Characters create scenes and conflicts. Characters sometimes fail and sometimes redeem themselves. All traits that a character sheet can help with your story journey. Tips on how to develop your characters with character sheets.
Character: The beating heart of narrative. Nieman Foundation Storyboard.
How do you write compelling characters? Find the source of their pain. CrimeReads.
An inciting incident is the moment that spurs our main character into action. Learn how to write an impactful inciting incident and build your story. Tips and six examples from BookBaby.
Jerry Jenkins: How to Create a Character’s Backstory
Jerry Jenkins: our characters are the driving force behind our stories. We should know everything about them—what they look like, their love interests, their favorite food or song—you name it. Some writers even refer to their characters as their children. Which is why it’s so frustrating when a character you’ve labored over comes out flat and boring.
After decades of writing, I’ve found the fix: determine your character’s backstory. Backstory explains why they do what they do and sets up their character arc—who they are at the end compared to who they were at the beginning.
I’ve published a new article, How to write a character's backstory.
Jerry Jenkins Guide to Writing a Book in 20 Steps. PDF.
How to Craft Characters in Historical Fiction
One of the most important aspects of any novel that aspires to literary quality is the depth of the characterizations. Unless the book is completely plot driven (is there any such book?), it’s through the characters that readers will be able to identify with and be drawn into your story and your world. N.L. Holmes writes in the Florida Writers Association: This becomes a particularly acute issue in historical fiction, where strange names, customs, and world views may make identification just a little bit harder for many people. They must be able to understand and feel for those “foreigners” from the land of the past.
Secondary Characters: What They Do. Why Bother?
As a writer, you send your main character out the door, down the path, and into the world of your story. But wait? Can they succeed if they go it alone, asks Anne Hawkinson in the Florida Writers Association. Frodo wouldn’t have gotten far without Sam as The Lord of the Rings fans know all too well. Your story needs someone to join the hero on his/her journey. That’s where secondary characters get their chance to shine.
How to Create Three-Dimensional Characters
When the main character in a story is created, the reader needs to be able “see” a fully-formed individual they can connect with and invest in for the duration of the story. He/she cannot be a teetering paper doll or a penciled stick figure struggling to grab and hold the reader’s attention. Let’s see what we can do about that, writes Anne Hawkinson in the Florida Writers Association.
How to Make Lovable Characters, and Why
Characters should be relatable, we all know that. But do they have to be likeable? I’d say genre expectations have a lot to do with the permitted limits of disagreeability. Literary novels definitely make curmudgeons a staple, writes Niki Kantzios in the Florida Writers Association. Olive Kitteridge, for example, is no one you’d want to get cozy with. But it’s precisely the honesty and self-knowledge that lurk under her fierce exterior that we observe with compassion as she blunders her abrasive way through life. That’s what makes the depth of the book so compelling. That’s what makes it literary. We know enough about her past and what she’s dealing with to explain if not excuse her behavior. She’s complex, not a cardboard curmudgeon.
How to Connect with the Reader Through Authentic Characters
If you’ve ever laughed out loud or cried or chewed a fingernail while reading a book, it’s because the character came to life for you. The character’s experiences drew you into the story, so you vicariously felt that awkward moment, heartbreak, or fear. How does an author create that kind of connection with a reader? Through credibility, authenticity, and originality, writes Joni M. Fisher in the Florida Writers Association.
Tessa Hadley on Building a Story from Details in the New Yorker
The author discusses “After the Funeral,” her story from the latest issue of the magazine.
New Yorker fiction editor Debra Treisman: You bring such an intense level of detail to your descriptions of characters and the situations they find themselves in that reading your stories is almost a physical experience. How do your characters take shape for you? Do you see them? Inhabit them?
Author Tessa Hadley: I seem to see them, definitely. And yet the “seeing,” in words, is a very different thing, obviously, from seeing with brushstrokes in a painting. Clearly, as an actual representation of the external appearance of things, writing can’t be as exact as a painting. Or it can’t be exact in the same way. You couldn’t derive a photofit picture of a person from their description in a piece of fiction. But this verbal “seeing” can have other kinds of lifelikeness. When I was trying to convey Charlotte, I needed to get down on the page not only her big eyes and heavy lids—and, later, her jutting hipbones and lavender-colored flares and limp hair and crashing lack of talent for the piano—but I also needed the words “rain” and “marsh water,” to describe the color of her eyes. But not really describe it: what color would that be exactly? It’s that putting the words “rain” and “marsh” and “water” on the page beside Charlotte’s name and her eyes and her gaze captures something of her presence, her flavor, her spirit. In Dr. Cherry’s bed, her limbs are “goose-fleshed, greenish-white . . . abandoned like something drowned”; those pink nylon sheets offset her body crucially—the static from them is like the shock of whatever sexual thing happens there. Putting down the words with all their vibrant, complex contents and interrelationships is like making marks on the page: meaning-marks (quite different in their dimensions to the marks of direct representation that a painter makes). And you build, out of these meaning-marks, the whole composite of the characters: their atmosphere, and their essential gesture, and the aura they have that they don’t even know about, in their prosaic daily selves. Charlotte has no idea she has this watery mystery in her—or the bedraggled migrating bird blown off course that her mother sees.
What Makes a Good Protagonist? Authors Share Favorite Traits
To be a successful fiction writer, you need engaging characters, a compelling plot, and riveting language. Clearly conflict is important – fiction thrives on conflict, and conflict drives the plot. A short story or novel without a plot, even if it’s character-driven, isn’t a story; it’s merely a sketch, writes Jack Smith in The Writer. And the language, of course, is much of what makes fiction live for readers. Vibrant language energizes a story. But so often, it’s characters who pull us in – characters we can relate to, root for, or at least empathize with.
Chief of all characters is the main character, or protagonist, who must hook readers from the very beginning. Since that’s the case, choose your protagonist wisely. But how do you do that? What’s involved in that choice?
Who Is an Antagonist and Why It’s Important to Your Story?
Because most stories involve conflict, most stories also involve an antagonist. Your protagonist—the main character—will struggle to achieve something important to them, and the antagonist will further complicate this struggle, writes Sean Glatch on Writers.com. Knowing who is the antagonist of your story, as well as what motivates them, will greatly improve your fiction, nonfiction, and storytelling. Even if your story only has one character, that character will likely still face an antagonist. So, what is an antagonist? Let’s define it accordingly, looking at antagonist examples, the difference between the protagonist vs antagonist, and exactly what is the function of an antagonist in a story.
Character Development: From Fundamentals to Flesh and Bone
Unless you’re writing abstract and absurdist fiction, your stories have characters. These characters have names, motives, flaws, conflicts, and unique backgrounds – and it’s up to you to flesh those elements out! Great characters are often what brings the story to its full potential, but since people are inherently complex, great character development is hard to write. This Writers.com ebook is designed to jumpstart your character writing.
Kindlepreneur Template to Help Develop Characters
Over the past few months, I've been doing a lot of work to pick broad topics for authors, then create as many articles as possible within that topic to really flesh it out, writes Dave Chesson of Kindlepreneur. It's kind of like writing a book in web form. One of those topics that we've been working on lately is character development. This everything I've published about character development.
Mystery Clues: How to Plant Clues and Red Herrings in Your Story
Suspense master Joslyn Chase is unraveling the mystery of the perfect clue. How do you know which clues and red herrings to plant? How can you integrate them effectively into the story? How do you play fair with the reader without giving away the solution? She’s revealing the answers to all these questions and more here at The Write Practice.
Your Story’s Tone of Voice Is More Than Personality
Find. Your. Voice. Weaned on this advice, we fiction writers know that when an otherwise well-built narrative lies comatose on the page, only a fresh infusion of voice will revive it, writes Cheryl Gray Bostrom on diyMFA.com. We mean well. We’re on it. Inspiration flashing, we roar into our languishing stories to resuscitate our prostrate viewpoint characters with a misguided solution: we inject them with more personality. Personality is not enough.
What Makes a Great Villain? Ask Stephen King
A great villain can engage an audience, energize a book, and provide a satisfying source of conflict—but the devil is definitely in the details.
The Harry Potter series gave us one of the greatest villains in literary and cinematic history. A character who fills us with unbridled rage. I don’t mean Voldemort. I mean Dolores Umbridge. I have never experienced such a visceral reaction to any character as I have towards Umbridge, and I’m not alone. She is the single most hated character in a series packed with despicable villains. In a survey asking “Who do you hate more?” Umbridge beat Voldemort 89 percent to 11 percent.
Stephen King, who knows a thing or two about creating villains, wrote in Entertainment Weekly, “the gently smiling Dolores Umbridge, with her girlish voice, toadlike face, and clutching, stubby fingers, is the greatest make-believe villain to come along since Hannibal Lecter.” So, let’s dive in and see what makes Umbridge so abhorrent and how can we use that to fuel our own writing, writes Scott McCormick for BookBaby.
5 Fun Ways to Create Characters with Fresh Personalities
No matter how fascinating your plot or magical your world, your readers won’t engage if you don’t have compelling characters, writes author Krystal Craiker for ProWriting Aid. Characters drive your story forward. They are how readers relate to your story because they see parts of themselves or people they know in them. Your characters need personality traits and flaws, motivations, secrets, and more. Here are five creative ways to develop strong, compelling characters.
Climbing the “ladder of abstraction” to evoke empathy and elevate your message. Writing tips from the Nieman Foundation Storyboard newsletter (free).
Flip through Literature's greatest ever opening (and closing) passages. Memorable lines, compiled by Flipboard.
For today’s crime novels, the stakes are high, right from the first sentence. CrimeReads.
Rita Chang-Eppig on how to write a fight scene. Lit Hub.
Murder is a plot point. Suicide isn’t. Lit Hub.
Short Story vs. novel: techniques of story writing. Writer's Digest.
Historical fiction: a guarantee of critical success or a trap? Eurasia Review.
Novelist John Wray Lists the Rules of Crime Fiction
The genre of so-called crime fiction, or whatever name you choose to call it by, is more obsessed with the nuts-and-bolts of craft, in my experience, than any other, writes novelist John Wray in Lit Hub. In this medium-sized paperback, published by Writer’s Digest Books (!) and conscientiously edited by the inimitable Sue Grafton, I found a banquet of concise, three-to-seven-page chapters on virtually every element that plays a role in the creation of fiction: “Characterization,” “Pacing and Suspense,” “How to Write Convincing Dialogue,” “On Work Schedules,” “Depiction of Violence,” “Historical Mysteries,” even “The Medical Thriller.” Though some of these entries were written by giants of the profession — Sue, clearly, had called in some favors — they are, almost without exception, magically free of cant and self-seriousness and pretension. Mystery writers, it turns out, don’t regard their vocation as the domain of the privileged, sophisticated few. They’ll tell you in plain English what worked for them and what didn’t, with the clear implication that you’re free to disagree.
Rebecca Makkai has qualms with true crime media (and makes that critique in her new novel). Lit Hub.
How to Avoid Cliched Characters, Especially Protagonists
Clichés come in several forms: language, ideas, characters. Clichéd language is tired, moth-eaten. Clichéd ideas are well-tilled soil. Clichéd characters are stereotypical, overused, predictable–cardboard. In defining these, we fall into clichés. As a creative writer, you’re urged to go for originality, depth, and complexity. But how can you avoid clichéd characters, especially protagonists? And once you realize you’ve started your story or novel with one, is it too late? Can you salvage the character and your work? We turned to several seasoned fiction writers to find out, writes Jack Smith in The Writer.
9 Things Your Thriller Needs to Be Lean, Mean, Exhilarating
So, you crack your knuckles and sit down at the keyboard to write a thriller. You’re eager to create a gripping story in which the protagonist tries to stop something dreadful from happening. You want to cause delicious anxiety and apprehension that keeps readers on the edge of their seats, turning the pages in dread and exhilaration. How do you create work that lives up to the name and thrills? Tips from Meg Gardinier in CrimeReads.
How to Choose Names for Your Characters That Carry Enduring Meanings
Choosing the names for the characters in your story is a big deal. Not only do you have to live with them through the months (or years) it takes you to draft and edit your story, you’ll also have to live with them throughout the publication and promotion process (which, if you’re lucky, will last you through a long and successful writing career). And, so will your readers. The last thing you want to do is choose a name that carries little to no meaning or that you’ll hate to hear for years to come. You can’t predict how readers will react to the names you choose, but if you choose a name with meaning, that can help readers overcome their personal associations with the name (hello, high school nemesis…), writes Amy Jones in Writer's Digest.
Robert McKee: 10 Things Writers Need for Convincing Characters
Although characters seem to live in fictional worlds the way people exist in reality, a story’s cast is as artificial as a ballet troupe—a society choreographed to meet an author’s purpose, writes Robert McKee in Lit Hub. And what is that purpose? Why do writers do this? Why create human facsimiles? Why not spend our days with friends and family, content in their company?
Because reality is never enough. The mind wants meaning, but reality offers no clear beginnings, middles, or ends. Stories do. The mind wants unfettered insight into itself and the secret selves of others, but people wear masks, inside and out. Characters do not. They enter barefaced and exit translucent.
Events, in and of themselves, have no meaning. Lightning striking a vacant lot is pointless; lightning striking a vagrant matters. When an event adds a character, suddenly nature’s indifference fills with life. Ten things writers need to create convincing characters.
SFW members discussed McKee’s techniques for Story recently.
What Crime Writer and One-Time Floridian Michael Connelly Predicts about Bosch
When the seventh and final season of “Bosch”—based on the popular and long-running series of crime novels by Michael Connelly—debuted June 25, will the series reflect the changed nature of the world and of policing? Or is it our reaction to the series that will be different?
Connelly and Amazon have said the final season is “mostly” based on “The Burning Room,” Connelly’s 2014 entry in the book series. What the author and one-time Floridian says.
Shirley Goldberg: What My Characters Taught Me About Dating
“When author Amber Daulton invited me to guest post on her blog, I had no clue two of my main characters would beg to join me,” says Shirley Goldberg, Sarasota author. But Sunny Chanel (Middle Ageish) and Dana Narvana (Eat Your Heart Out) insisted.
Besides, I have a secret.
This past week my characters and I argued about what makes relationships work.
Dating in your fifties isn’t easy, said Sunny.
It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done, said Dana.
They pointed out four basic bloopers I made again and again.
If you mess up in life, you’ll mess up in your books, Sunny said.
So, I agreed the three of us would guest post. In truth, I was afraid to say no. What My Characters Taught Me About Relationships, by Shirley Goldberg.
Mark Mathes edited the book.
Jenkins: How to Keep Readers Hooked with Internal & External Conflict
How do you keep readers riveted to the end, asks nest-selling author and writing coach Jerry Jenkins. SFW members have discussed his presentations recently.
Conflict is the engine of fiction. Readers love it.
Dianna and I recently celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary and agree on almost everything. That’s a gift. On the page? Boring.
The more conflict, the more interesting your story. What is Internal Conflict?
The mental, spiritual, or emotional battle a character faces makes them relatable to readers. If your characters don’t feel authentic, they may be missing common human emotions. More from Jenkins here.
FLASH FICTION/SHORT STORIES
Flash Fiction: Cut the Summary and Exposition. Focus on Character.
An award-winning writer, editor, workshop leader, and teacher of flash fiction, Tommy Dean is known throughout the literary community as someone who understands and elevates the flash fiction form, as well as someone who always thinks about other writers. He’ll be the first person to retweet a new story, tag his appreciation for a fellow author, and spread the word about upcoming publications and events. Talking flash fiction with Tommy Dean. We, as writers and humans, continue to navigate this unsettling, isolating pandemic. So, it was a particularly interesting time to discuss the theme of searching for connection, both on the page and in our own lives, including our connection to the literary community at large. As someone who has attended his workshops, and long been a fan, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to speak with Dean about his new flash collection, Hollows, out this year from Alternating Current Press.
blogs columns
How to Get Started with Blogs to Connect with Readers
In the age of the internet, author blogging can be a useful tool for keeping in contact with your readership. It is no wonder why so many authors find themselves creating their own blogs as having one can increase your readership and, therefore, your income.
There are many considerations to make when creating and running a blog, and doing so without a guideline can leave you without content or, possibly worse, an audience. In this commentary from The Book Designer, here are some tips:
--choose whether running a blog is right for you
--walk you through the process setting up a blog
--decide what the style of your blog might be
--discover ways that you can market yourself and your blog to gain readers
convert those readers into engaged customers.
PRODUCTIVITY TOOLS
9 Great Google Docs Add-ons for Writers and Students
Here’s a quick guide to installing Google Docs add-ons along with
nine of the best ones to try out, according to Business Insider.
Authors Can Learn from the Military about Operations Other Than Writing
Working as a reporter at the Pentagon, I learned a lot of fun acronyms. Among my favorites was MOOTW (Pron: MOOT wuh). It’s short for Military Operations Other Than War, writes Al Pessin for the Florida Writers Association. When you think about it, that describes much of what the military is called upon to do: peacekeeping, humanitarian operations, disaster relief, dispute mediation, even diplomacy. I want to propose the creation of a new acronym: AOOTW (Pron: ah-OOT wuh)—Author Operations Other Than Writing.
Google Docs Will Soon Offer Writing, Style Suggestions to Make Writing More Better
Google Docs has offered autocorrect and grammar check tools for some time now. Now it’s adding more advanced features to help you further enhance your writing style. Google Docs will soon provide various stylistic and writing suggestions in documents to make your writing more concise, inclusive, and dynamic. As you’re typing, you’ll see suggestions for structuring a sentence with an active voice, removing redundant words, and using alternate words to add variety and avoid repetitive words in your documents. In addition, Google Docs can now also detect potentially discriminatory and inappropriate expressions and provide suggestions to make your writing more inclusive for your audience.
5 Tips to Improve Your Google Search Skills
While Google Search is a brilliant search engine, it’s also a work in progress. Google is continuously addressing various issues related to its performance. One major challenge relates to societal biases concerning race and gender. For example, searching Google Images for “truck driver” or “president” returns images of mostly men, whereas “model” and “teacher” return images of mostly women. While the results may represent what has historically been true (such as in the case of male presidents), this isn’t always the same as what is currently true – let alone representative of the world we wish to live in. Five tips to Improve Your Google Search Skills.
8 Tools to Keep Your Writing Life Organized
As every good writer knows, writing compelling content is essential to being a great writer. But that is really only half of your job description. Without good organization for these essential and less-than-glamorous tasks, it can be difficult to make a living as a writer. Eight tools for staying organized from The Write Life. To make life a little easier, we compiled a list of some of our favorite resources and writing tools to help our fellow creatives become more organized and manage the background tasks better. Implement a few (or all of these) so you can spend more time on what you love to do, writing and less time on everything else.
The PITCH
How to Know When Your Work Is Ready to Send Out
Ultimately, the car driver makes the decisions. This holds true for creatives who will at some point say, have I turned a corner? Is my work ready to go out into the world?
There are many worries: is my work polished enough? Have I done everything I wanted to? Have I put as much heart into the piece as I am capable of? What if it’s too rough?
I have a writer friend who’s been tinkering with his novel for many years. When he reads, critique partners tell him “do this.” “Go this way.” “Back-up.” “Head back the way you were going.” Poor driver—bewildered writer, writes Shutta Crum in the Florida Writers Association.
Not long ago I got an email saying, he was sending it out. How top know when your work is ready to send out.
How to Write a Query Letter: 3 Paragraphs That Hook an Agent
To land your perfect agent, you need to write the single most important page you’ll ever write outside of your book: a query letter. Editor Abigail Perry writing for The Writing Practice is sharing a three-part process to write a query letter that can capture an agent's attention and jumpstart your career as an author.
What If It Takes 12 Years to Find an Agent?
Here’s what I came to see in my dozen years of disappointment, writes novelist Catherine Baab-Muguira. Maybe this hard-won knowledge can help you, too, wherever you are in your—the word is hard to dodge—journey. Of course, nonfiction and fiction may be marketed and sold very differently. With nonfiction, it can be easier to make an objective case for who will buy a book, while fiction—you will hear again and again—is more subjective. Commentary here.
Why Your Resume/CV Is Critical When You Pitch Publishers
Submission rules are a part of what we live with. Your work must be submitted to be seen. Editors, magazines, publishers, and agents alike are willing participants on the receiving end – or so we are taught to believe, but many writers fall into the category of “many sent, many rejected” and then “many sent and published, and I’m still waiting on that break.”
“That break” is what we are talking about here. As a writer, your resume, or CV is your passport into the literary world. Yes, the reputation of your writing is important, but professionals in the market want to see what you have and can accomplish. Your CV will start small, “my poem titled Hard Luck was published in the Pleasantville Gazette Father’s Day Issue”. This is the beginning.
If you’ve read “On Writing” by Stephen King, you know he got his start by submitting short stories to magazines and journals. If you are trying to concentrate on that novel, you might want to break away for a little bit and try penning a short story, or two – or three. And an essay or two won’t hurt either. The trick is to get as many works as possible with your name on them out there; in journals, blogs, academic literary magazines, anywhere looking for short fiction or essays to help build your portfolio. And there are tons out there. More by Rod Martinez for the Florida Writers Association.
What Authors Should Know About Pitching and Publishing Houses
Jonathan Lee is the editor in chief of Catapult Books and an award-winning, internationally bestselling novelist. His third novel, High Dive, was named a best book of the year by The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Guardian, and many other publications; his next, The Great Mistake, will be published in June 2021. Recently, Jonathan and Nicole Chung chatted about his path to publishing, his advice for aspiring book editors, and what writers should know about pitching their projects to Catapult. Interview with Nicole Chung.
Why Writers Should Submit to Literary Journals in Multiple Tiers
You’ve written, edited, proofread (and proofread again!) your short story, personal essay, or poem, and now you’re ready to share it with the world. The next step is to begin submitting your work to literary journals and magazines for publication! But where do you even begin? Should you submit to the well-known, big-name publications and face lots of rejection, or start small but risk losing clout? Research experts and submission strategists explain why the best option is to submit to literary journals in multiple tiers to boost your odds of getting published. More from Writer's Relief here.
If You Try the Traditional Route, You Must Follow Publisher Rules
We all know you have to have written a great book to get a deal, writes Dave Chesson of Kindlepreneur. But if you don’t follow publishing house and agent guidelines and process, you’ll never even make it to the editor’s desk. So, to help authors give their book the best chance, I’ve started a set of articles directly relating to some of these all-important process:
So, to help authors give their book the best chance, I’ve started a set of articles directly relating to some of these all-important processes:
How to format your manuscript to an editor's specifications.
How to get a book deal in 4 steps. And why you shouldn't bother.
TRAVEL WRITING
Newspaper Reporter Nellie Bly Changes Journalism, Travel Writing
On November 14, 1889, a newspaper reporter named Nellie Bly (a pen name; she was born Elizabeth Jane Cochran) set out from New York City. She was on a quest to beat the record of Jules Verne’s fictional Phileas Fogg, who traveled around the world in 80 days in Verne’s 1872 adventure novel, Around the World in 80 Days. Initially, her editors at Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World didn’t want to let Bly go. “It is impossible for you to do it,” the managing editor told her. “In the first place you are a woman and would need a protector, and even if it were possible for you to travel alone you would need to carry so much baggage that it would detain you in making rapid changes…no one but a man can do this.” “Very well,” Bly replied. “Start the man and I’ll start the same day for some other newspaper and beat him.” They didn’t doubt that, and eventually they relented. Bly boarded the Augusta Victoria with nothing but the clothes on her back—a dress and overcoat (made specially of sturdy material for the occasion)—and a single handbag. More on Lit Hub.
Like Mark Twain, Travel Writing Can Help Fiction Writers
Ah, travel writing. Before he was a novelist, Mark Twain wrote “color” pieces for newspapers. Feature stories about events. Snark. Lots of snark. His bestselling work was The Innocents Abroad, a nonfiction book about a pious group of tourists who travel to Europe and the Holy Land in 1867, writes Chuck Palahniuk in his Plot Spoiler commentary. Twain is a chauvinistic dick who compares everything in the Old World to California and finds the former always lacking. All in all, the book is a hoot. Consider that travel writing is a great vehicle. For fiction. For reinventing a genre such as a mystery. It launches the story with the authority of nonfiction — the truth — but can quickly veer off the rails. The take-away. Consider how you can use the forms of nonfiction travel writing. Above all, look for a through-line activity for your characters — a ritual, a discovery process, whatever. And create through-line objects you can use and morph and eventually resolve.
What I Learned Covering Two Guns Filming Across the Street
Mark Mathes: Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg are undercover operatives on the run for their lives holding millions in drug money. It’s streaming now on Amazon Prime, HBO and elsewhere. The suspense comedy purported to unwind in Texas and Mexico was largely shot in South Louisiana in 2013. In fact, it was shot ten years ago across the street from the newspaper office where I was editor. What I learned covering 2 Guns, Wahlberg and Washington. Here.
Why New Orleans Can Be a Writer’s City
The city of New Orleans is so famous for its music, its food, and its Mardi Gras mentality that it’s sometimes overlooked as a magnet for writers like Walt Whitman, Zora Neale Hurston, and William Faulkner. In this episode, Jacke talks to New Orleans scholar T.R. Johnson, author of the new book New Orleans: A Writer’s City, about the neighborhoods of New Orleans and the writers who’ve been inspired by them. Podcast on Lit Hub.
STYLE
Kurt Vonnegut’s Greatest Advice for Writers
Today, if you can believe it, makes nearly two decades since we lost one of the greatest American writers—and, no matter how he tried to deny it, one of the greatest writing teachers, writes Emily Temple for Lit Hub. Certainly one of the greatest writing advice list-makers, at any rate. Vonnegut’s many thoughts on writing have been widely shared, taught, studied and adapted (designer Maya Eilam’s infographic-ized version of his “shapes of stories” lecture springs vividly to mind) because his advice tends to be straightforward, generous, and (most importantly) right. Plus, it’s no-nonsense advice with a little bit of nonsense. Like his books, really. Find some of Vonnegut’s greatest writing advice, plucked from interviews, essays, and elsewhere, below—but first, find some of Vonnegut’s greatest life advice right here: “I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don’t let anybody tell you different.” Okay, proceed.
Slaughterhouse-Five: Revisiting Vonnegut's four-dimensional masterpiece. Tor Publishing.
The origin of the red herring and its place in literature. Lit Hub.
Connotation vs. Denotation: Definitions, Examples, and the Difference
If you've ever called a friend or partner “cheap” instead of “frugal” and found yourself paying the bill, you may have made a critical error noting the difference between connotation vs. denotation, writes Liz Bureman in The Write Practice. What's the difference between connotation vs. denotation? And more importantly, how can you use each one to your advantage as a writer?
Pat Gray Shares Classic Style Sheets from the Late Bill Carrigan
From Pat Gray: Hello, everyone, I just ran across this set of style sheets by editor and SFW member Bill Carrigan. What is a bit unique for those of us who have seen these for years is that this set is from 2006/7. Bill was extremely sharp at that time—he was only 86.
Bill worked on these for over two decades, carefully distilling what he considered the essentials of punctuation, grammar and usage. This was one of his passions. He led writing critique groups for years.
Over the years, he handed out several revisions of the style sheets. As he grew older, he continued to edit the same style guide, hoping to make it perfect, but nothing ever is. These are essentially the same, but, to me, they read a little fresher. I put these into a folder on my desktop. Just a click away. For things like lay and lie, what or which, etc., his work can be quite valuable and time-saving.
Anyway, Happy Holidays from Bill.
Pat
Note from Mark Mathes: Here are sixteen style sheets. Most are a page or two. Collect them all!
Overview: On Language by Bill Carrigan
Introductory adverbial phrases
Commas with nonrestrictive phrase
Commas and semicolons in a series
Historical Dictionary for Science Fiction
This find comes from Electric Speed reader David Reim: The Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction is a comprehensive quotation-based dictionary of the language of science fiction. The origin dates cluster around the 1930s–1950s, what the site calls "the big time for general SF vocabulary." Browse.
Is it “Jury-rigged” or “Jerry-rigged'? Plus, other commonly misused phrases. Flipboard.
Capitalization Rules for Titles and Chapters
Struggling to decide if a word needs to be capitalized or not? Here’s everything you need to know when it comes to capitalization. Tips from BookBaby.
Wordsmith Bill Safire: Don’t Use No Double Negatives
Author Frank Scozzari @ScozzariFrank shared some classic advice from wordsmith, author and political speech writer Bill Safire.
Don't use no double negatives.
Avoid commas, that are not necessary.
Verbs has to agree with their subjects.
Kill all exclamation points!!!
Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.
Last but not least, avoid clichés like the plague.
—William Safire
Frank Scozzari is a five-time Pushcart Prize nominee. His award-winning short stories have been widely anthologized and featured in literary theater.
How to write fast — or at least faster. Tips from Poynter.
Kurt Vonnegut’s Greatest Advice for Writers
Today, if you can believe it, makes nearly two decades since we lost one of the greatest American writers—and, no matter how he tried to deny it, one of the greatest writing teachers, writes Emily Temple for Lit Hub. Certainly one of the greatest writing advice list-makers, at any rate. Vonnegut’s many thoughts on writing have been widely shared, taught, studied and adapted (designer Maya Eilam’s infographic-ized version of his “shapes of stories” lecture springs vividly to mind) because his advice tends to be straightforward, generous, and (most importantly) right. Plus, it’s no-nonsense advice with a little bit of nonsense. Like his books, really. Find some of Vonnegut’s greatest writing advice, plucked from interviews, essays, and elsewhere, below—but first, find some of Vonnegut’s greatest life advice right here: “I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don’t let anybody tell you different.” Okay, proceed.
Slaughterhouse-Five: Revisiting Vonnegut's four-dimensional masterpiece. Tor Publishing.
The origin of the red herring and its place in literature. Lit Hub.
Connotation vs. Denotation: Definitions, Examples, and the Difference
If you've ever called a friend or partner “cheap” instead of “frugal” and found yourself paying the bill, you may have made a critical error noting the difference between connotation vs. denotation, writes Liz Bureman in The Write Practice. What's the difference between connotation vs. denotation? And more importantly, how can you use each one to your advantage as a writer?
Pat Gray Shares Classic Style Sheets from the Late Bill Carrigan
From Pat Gray: Hello, everyone, I just ran across this set of style sheets by editor and SFW member Bill Carrigan. What is a bit unique for those of us who have seen these for years is that this set is from 2006/7. Bill was extremely sharp at that time—he was only 86.
Bill worked on these for over two decades, carefully distilling what he considered the essentials of punctuation, grammar and usage. This was one of his passions. He led writing critique groups for years.
Over the years, he handed out several revisions of the style sheets. As he grew older, he continued to edit the same style guide, hoping to make it perfect, but nothing ever is. These are essentially the same, but, to me, they read a little fresher. I put these into a folder on my desktop. Just a click away. For things like lay and lie, what or which, etc., his work can be quite valuable and time-saving.
Anyway, Happy Holidays from Bill.
Pat
Note from Mark Mathes: Here are sixteen style sheets. Most are a page or two. Collect them all!
Overview: On Language by Bill Carrigan
Introductory adverbial phrases
Commas with nonrestrictive phrase
Commas and semicolons in a series
Historical Dictionary for Science Fiction
This find comes from Electric Speed reader David Reim: The Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction is a comprehensive quotation-based dictionary of the language of science fiction. The origin dates cluster around the 1930s–1950s, what the site calls "the big time for general SF vocabulary." Browse.
Is it “Jury-rigged” or “Jerry-rigged'? Plus, other commonly misused phrases. Flipboard.
Capitalization Rules for Titles and Chapters
Struggling to decide if a word needs to be capitalized or not? Here’s everything you need to know when it comes to capitalization. Tips from BookBaby.