Mar 31
Last weekend I had the pleasure of hearing Bob Mayer speak at my local RWA chapter. He was with us for two days of intense seminars. Essentially, he covered all of the material in both of his wonderful books, The Novel Writer’s Toolkit and Write it Forward: From Writer to Successful Author. But there was …
Mar 24
Well, folks, it’s that time of year again. Spring. Have you put your characters through hell yet? Have you created as much conflict as you possibly can? Killed or nearly killed your protagonist? Made his or her life unbearable – it is that time of year. What do you mean what does Spring have to …
Mar 17
It hates me and I hate it, what’s complicated about that? Some people might think that Grammar and I have a complicated relationship. I don’t think so. I hate it and it hates me… oh, all right. We just barely tolerate each other. Every so often I follow its rules. Once in a while it …
Mar 10
Why do some stories work better in one point of view than another? Why do you choose first over third, or vice-versa? It can be difficult sometimes to know in which point of view you should write a story. Sometimes you’ve just got to try it out – write the first few chapters in one …
Jan 06
How important are the characters we create in our novels? I’ve spoken about creating characters here before—tips on how to create well-rounded characters – but I don’t think I wrote about why it is so important to have real-to-life, likeable characters who develop through your book. Yes, you have to like, even love, the characters …
Dec 29
Many people make resolutions for the new year. It’s a time honored tradition dating back to Babylonian times when people would make an effort to pay their debts and return borrowed objects at the turn of the new year (according to Wikapedia). The Romans would start the year by making promises to the god Janus …
Dec 02
Point of view has always fascinated me. I’ve read and reread Alicia Rasley’s The Power of Point of View as well as Orson Scott Card’s Characters & Point of View, and still every time I open either book I learn something new. The other day I was skimming through my blog feeds and came across …
Nov 11
It’s editing time again, woohoo! I’m both teaching the subject in my Craft of Writing class this week, and spent all of yesterday listening to the wonderful Margie Lawson teach her EDITS system and Empowering Your Writing. Which means that, yes, I’ve got a ton of work to do on my WIP. The very first …
Sep 23
I can always count on my students to enable me to teach my lessons in class. This past week it was a very sweet woman who has a great love for Hrithik Roshan, the Bollywood movie star. I told her she had to throw acid in his face. She screamed. Literally. Every semester when I …
Jul 22
This is another installment in my occasional series of writing-craft book reviews. If there is a writing-craft book you are curious about email me, and I’ll see if I’ve read it. If so, I’ll be happy to write a review about it. I’m a little ashamed to admit that I’ve got a good collection of …
