Motivation. You hear it all the time. Your characters need to be motivated to pick up that sword and slay the dragon, venture to a distant galaxy, or figure out why there’s a dead body at the bottom of the well. What motivates your character to do what they need to do in your story?…
Tag: Mark Stevens
Details, Details
Go find a copy of Lucia Berlin’s short story collection, A Manual for Cleaning Women. Find “Point of View” within. (Actually, okay, read the whole book or maybe one short story a week for as long as it takes. The title story is a masterpiece of humor and narration.) But “Point of View” is a…
All Hail Conan! (And Buy The Book)
I’m here today with a handy tip for the season of the gift. Order a copy of Conan the Grammarian, Practical Guidelines on Grammar and Craft for Fiction Writers. A mere $10. (Actually, $9.95.) And then give it to a writer friend for Christmas or your holiday of choice. Birthdays would work, too. Boom, done….
You Are in the Right Place
(Friends – I’m taking the cheap & easy way out this month by using the blog space to publish my Writer of the Year speech / comments at Colorado Gold on Sept. 9. I included a few illustrations to break up the long text. Thank you all so much for your support. As should be…
Colorado Calling
I believe Colorado crime fiction is having a moment. The writers? That’s not what I mean. I’m talking about the dramatic setting. I mean, right now. In August, it was the release of Erik Storey’s Nothing Short of Dying. This month, it’s Kevin Wolf’s The Homeplace. (Today as a matter of fact; Sept. 6 is…