The Man Behind the Mask
As fiction writers, we are all aware that it is a serious no-no to allow your characters to “act out of character.” But what this […]
Tag: writing craft
Your Heart Knows
I must be a born rebel. When it comes to fiction-writing rules, I just can’t seem to help but break them—at least some of them, […]
Don’t Just Tell It Like It Is
When you are writing a memoir, blog, or other autobiographical material, treat it like a work of fiction inasmuch as the prose matters. Don’t equate […]
He Said / She Said / They Said
Dialogue Tags It has been suggested that said is the most beautiful word in the English language, and that is certainly true for writers. Said […]
Bear or Wombat?
Point of View Once upon a time, when I lived in the American Southwest, I bought a copper wall-hanging in the shape of a Zuni […]
Good Bones
Just as your body needs a skeleton to give it structure, your novel needs a framework for its story. If you start with a solid, […]
Leave Classwork in the Classroom
Have you ever begun to read a work of fiction and had the thought, Oh! This author has taken a class in creative writing? I […]
Don’t Ruin It — Keep the Anticipation Alive
When you have a good thing going in your fiction – especially in a series – don’t ruin it by suddenly changing or deleting that […]
Know Your Destination
London, Sydney, or Tokyo? As we stood by this directional sign on a small island in the middle of the South Pacific, my husband and […]
Once Upon a Time…
Remember what it was like when you were a child and heard those magic words, Once upon a time…? It was like a switch flipped […]