Strong female characters have been all the rage the last several years, and it’s been great seeing girls kick some serious behind. But girls don’t have to swing a sword or beat the villain to a pulp with their bare hands in order to be strong. There are many kinds of strength and many kinds… Read more »
Mentoring has become a hot topic in the kidlit community. It seems like every few months a new program to match aspiring authors with established ones is announced. Why the desire for such programs? What are the benefits, and what should you look for in a mentor? Mentorship can accelerate a writer’s growth and open… Read more »
When I first moved to Washington, D.C. at the end of the summer in 2012, I was at the end of my first and only college relationship—I just didn’t know it yet. A month-long “break” turned into a break up and I was broken. Though a significant part of that brokenness came from someone I… Read more »
Welcome to the final article in this three-part “Ten Rules for Writing Killer Romance” series. If you missed Part One and/or Part Two, please click the preceding links. The reader of your romance novel has enjoyed close to three-quarters of your awesome story. You have successfully tortured the poor soul by disrupting what has become… Read more »
I hope you’re as excited as I am about this new series for the column. Karen Brooks is a columnist, book reviewer, blogger, former academic, and—most importantly for us—a successful author in the historical fiction genre. I discovered her work in The Locksmith’s Daughter, published in the US and the UK by HarperCollins and in… Read more »
Dear Editor, I’m writing a novel in the first-person perspective, and one of my critique partners just pointed out that they don’t know what my character looks like. Is character description important? If so, how do I describe a character from their own perspective without having them look in a mirror? Sincerely, Wondering Dear Wondering,… Read more »
It’s fitting, as a poet, that my first published foray into fiction, Let It Go, was a piece of flash fiction. The story clocked in at a brief 286 words. Brevity is the bedrock of writing flash. I consider flash writing forms as cousins to poetry. Grant Faulkner, the editor of the literary magazine 100… Read more »
Much like the second signpost scene (The Care Package) in James Scott Bell’s SuperStructure, the Pet the Dog scene gives the reader a chance to catch his/her breath while reinforcing care and concern for the story’s Lead (protagonist). Think about it, if the Lead thinks “only of himself,” readers “get a negative impression.” If we… Read more »
Last year, after reading Cal Newport’s Deep Work, I decided to start tracking my time. Specifically, I wanted to start tracking how many hours a day I was spending in what Newport calls a state of “Deep Work,” focused on one important, rather than urgent, task. However, I soon decided to take it a step… Read more »
Scenes depicting violence may prove difficult for some writers, since our artistic medium lacks a visual component. We must work doubly hard to keep the audience invested through vivid descriptions and sharp pacing. Smart authors also aim for techniques that channel tension and elicit emotion. In this post, we’ll outline five tips to help achieve… Read more »
