Recently I’ve found myself in a quandary about critiquing another writer for the ‘head hopping’ error. I mean, what actually constitutes head hopping?
Category: Blog
Passive vs Active Voice – How to Spot, How to Use
In a recent workshop, I was asked to explain the difference between passive and active voice. Think of active voice as being more direct, with a noun (the subject of the sentence) doing a verb (the action of the sentence): “Daryl caught the ball” (noun=Daryl, verb=caught) or “The script revealed the killer on the first…
Bloggers Wanted: Zero Pay, Tons of Karma Points!
Do you want to share some of your thoughts, ideas, suggestions, and tips with other writers? Are you itching to spend a little time writing something other than that novel you’re sick of staring at? Got a sure-fire technique you wish other writers knew about? Do you want to get your byline (and link to…
Packing to Perfection in Pompeii
Around lunchtime, in the year 79 of the Christian Era, on the coast of what is now modern-day Italy, a once-dormant volcano rumbled. Ash rained down on the first day as residents of the nearby city of Pompeii gathered their belongings and debated whether to leave or stay. A day later, Mount Vesuvius erupted in…
From Clash to Catharsis: The Role of Conflict in Novel-Writing
One of the first tenets of successful novel writing is that without conflict, you’ve got no story. Conflict is what keeps the reader turning pages. Without it, your story comes to a halt while you clear your throat, meander around aimlessly, and stare at the wall. In his craft book Conflict and Suspense, author James…