Laurence MacNauhgton & No Sleep ‘Til Doomsday It’s not often we get an excuse to include discussion of the theremin here on the Rocky Mountain Writer, so we had to jump at the chance when Laurence MacNaughton mentioned he’s been fiddling around with the strange musical device. In addition to the theremin, his new book No…
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Word of Mouth Goes Viral
What makes a bestseller? That question has tormented authors and the publishing industry for years. The best explanation I’ve heard came from an editor who used to regularly attend the Colorado Gold conference: “God smiles.” Of course, that isn’t very helpful. Creating a bestseller involves a lot of factors, few of which are under the…
Would the greats of classic literature pass muster in today’s critique groups?
I’ve heard some of my yet-to-be-published colleagues complain when they read a new release, saying, “This is so poorly written because (insert critique cliche here, from show-don’t-tell to overuse of adverbs, or what have you), I can’t believe this person got published and I can’t.” But flawed bestsellers are nothing new, and not just in…
One Little Dialogue Tip
I’m here with a quick tip for writing dialogue. It’s nothing new, but it really grabbed me this time around. It’s something I noticed while reading Angie Thomas’s novel The Hate U Give. It’s a stirring book, and yeah, it’s Thomas’s first novel. Twenty-five hundred reviews on Amazon; five solid stars. Praise is pouring in from…
The Anatomy of Emotion
I attended a workshop called Words, Words, Words at the Colorado Gold Conference a few weeks ago. As Susan Mackay Smith and Carol Berg waxed poetic about the importance of vivid, precise word choice, I despaired. I have a few strengths as a writer, but vocabulary is not one of them. I find myself particularly…