The Short Story: I write short stories because that’s how stories come to me: vivid, brimming with life, but short. I’ll be frying an egg or replanting a philodendron or washing a window and voila—a scene or story pops full-blown into my head, complete with backdrop, character, dialog, bit players, and a bit of arc….
Last month, I wrote about story beginnings (“Top 10 Ways Not to Start a Story”). A reader asked if I could expand on why those story beginnings may be weak choices, beyond just overuse. (Thanks for the suggestion, author Gloria Lesher!) A story’s first pages make promises to the reader. As an author, you must…
Synopsis. The mere mention of the word cues the impulse to run and hide or, at least, defer facing the synoptic music. Yet, there’s no getting away from the reality that a synopsis of your novel is an integral part of any submission and, along with a query and sample pages, is all an agent…
Note: A version of the following post was written for Ireland Writer Tours. The week I had been invited to spend in Ireland leading discussions for a group of writers, in September, has been canceled. Ireland is still struggling with variants of the COVID-19 virus; there weren’t enough participants booked to make the week work….
Bestsellers have always been created by word of mouth. One reader loves a book and tells other readers. They love the book and tell more readers. In a few weeks, or months, a bestseller is born. Publishers obviously try to influence the process. They pick out books on their lists they think have the potential…