Welcome to the Craft Corner. I am relatively new to the world of writing fiction, so as I step into landmines and blow up another writing convention, I will be sure to write about it here. Enough about me. Let’s talk about the passive voice. What is it? Why is there such an uproar over…
Tag: Writing Craft
Words of Warning …. by Kay Bergstrom
There are no bad words…only bad writers. Some words, however, set off warning alarms, signaling that the writer is venturing toward a danger zone and should back away slowly. Before you use these words (if you must) be aware of what you’re doing. Here are a few examples: Suddenly: The word is okay to use…
Writing the Gender-Flipped Character
By Susan Spann Good fiction requires both male and female characters, and every author needs to learn to write both types convincingly in order to put a compelling cast on the page. Few authors have experience living as both a male and a female. Most of us are only dealt one hand of gender-cards. The…
The End: Bringing Your Novel to a Close
There’s a lot of emphasis put on story beginnings as well as its muddy middle, but what about the end? I think the topic deserves more consideration. Every book has a beginning, a middle and an end. The beginning must be engaging enough to hook the reader, and the middle has to hold your audience’s…
Your Character’s Loss is Your Gain
Let’s talk about character and plot for a minute, and how one can’t exist without the other. Everything that happens in the plot forces your character to react, and your character’s reaction impacts what goes on in the plot. This creates a connected string of events that lead to the story’s ultimate conclusion. Action/reaction. Time…