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…
Tag: Writing Craft
Lightbulb Moments at Lighthouse Lit Fest 2021
In early June, I attended Lit Fest, presented by Denver’s Lighthouse Writers Workshop. I’ve participated in several craft workshops as part of the Lit Fest offerings in past summers, but this was the first year I decided to apply for an advanced placement course. While I’ve learned from all of my critique groups and workshops—with…
Top 10 Ways Not to Start a Story
Story beginnings are challenging. On the one hand, you’ve got all the excitement of getting to know your characters and their dilemmas for the first time, and you haven’t yet hit the point where flaws begin to raise their thorny heads. Ah, young love! On the other hand, those first-draft opening pages are seldom the…
Just-In-Time World Building
You’re sick of hearing “Show, don’t tell.” Got it. But then you’re told to use vivid descriptions and detail-rich settings to enrich your story. So how do you describe the world your character inhabits without “telling” about it? This is a constant balancing act, whether you’re writing space operas, historical fiction, a beach-themed romance, or…
The Road to Publication, Part 3 – Revision, Revision, Revision
I just finished the fourth major revision of my WIP (Work In Progress). Before I went into this version of the book, I read some of the craft books by my virtual mentor, James Scott Bell. He writes great thrillers, but also some fantastic books on the craft of writing. His writing style is light…