A poorly written story or a novel with gaps in plot structure or characters that act incongruent to the personality established at the outset of the work are like a movie that appears fuzzy on the screen, out of view and unfocused. Developmental editors like Linda Beed can spot these malfunctions in story and suggest […]
The Developmental Editor, The Copy Editor Read More »
I have a notebook for every novel I write. I make notes on short stories I write, but novels deserve an entire notebook. My novels, as with all stories I write, begin in my head. Since earning my MFA I give much thought to my novels before I write, sometimes as much 3 years or
Planning Your Novel: My Notebook Read More »
With the last of t he edits underway on my new publication, The House, due for release in Fall 2009, I’ve found myself pondering my next story. A novel, the idea came to me sometime last week. I now realize it popped into my head after overhearing a conversation wherein a middle-aged woman in speaking
The Map is Not the Terrain-Jon Franklin and His Outline Read More »
Stories come to us in many ways. Some of us receive them in images, others in certain ideal we desire to see played out. Some of us get the plot. And the some of us get taken by a character that won’t let us go. They fill our thoughts and days. We listen to them
Have Character, But No Story? Read More »
We’ve all heard as writers that character feeds, or drives plot. But how often does someone show us how this occurs? As a psychotherapist, wife and mother of 3 along with being an author I’ve given a lot of thought to this. Also my stories a heavily character driven. I think an awful lot about
Character Drives Plot: How? Read More »
Dialogue has to show not only something about the speaker that is its own revelation, but also maybe something about the speaker that he doesn’t know but the other character does know. –Eudora Welty Good dialogue accomplishes 4 things in fiction: reveals and develops character delivers backstory drives Plot directs pace But there are more
Dialogue: More than Conversing Read More »
I’ve received several comments on my blogs concerning Dan Brown. They were all positive, the readers saying they had added Angels and Demons to their reading list. I wrote to one person in response to their comment that: I find that reading a work that displays the element of craft I am trying to incorporate
Why Reading is Important Read More »