Last week my writing buddy sent me her new novel and asked for my feedback. This is the one I’ve been hearing about for a year, the novel she’s written that’s closest to her heart, and the one I feel will earn her a deal with a major publisher. And it got me thinking about…
How does one write characters for bestsellers? 1. Voice What is “voice” in writing? Voice is you, your choice of words, and how you use them. John #Grisham, readers know, will always give them a legal thriller, (unless the book is a poignant story of growing up.) Mark #Twain wrote, “You don’t know about me…
I’m writing a novella and suddenly I feel the muse telling me the story’s disenchanted circumstances are begging me to add a monster. Why? I ask. Comes the answer: Because these scenes are a bit mysterious, but not dark enough—or they’re a little spooky, but not scary enough. This story needs some tension. Hmmm. She’s…
At our last virtual get-together, one of my writer friends announced she was getting back the rights for a book she’d recently sold to a small press. The company had published several books for her already, and she’d been happy with those books and the publisher’s support. But the publisher wanted her to take this…
Is Twitter: A flippant smarmy cesspool? Source of endless inspiration? Giant time suck? All of the above? I would never recommend doing anything that doesn’t suit your style or float your boat, but I need my daily (um, er, hourly) Twitter fix. There are 1.5 zillion writing and writing-related accounts on Twitter, but I’m here…