You are reading along, a scene ends a new one begins and… Wait… Where am I? Who am I with? WHAT IS HAPPENING? I’m lost… Have you ever had this experience? If so, that writer was guilty of not setting the scene in their story or as I sometimes call it, not grounding the reader. … [Read more…]
Beats in Fiction Writing? Honestly, beats isn’t a term I use a lot, but it is a term I hear a lot, so I thought it would be good to define what beats in fiction are and why they matter. Beats in Fiction Writing Defined According to Sandra Scofield in her book, The Scene Book, … [Read more…]
Writing is about choosing powerful, interesting, and specific words to keep your readers engaged no matter what you are writing. Keeping readers engaged means making every word count. And nothing puts me more in the mood for a session of word-nerding than wisdom from Mark Twain. ~~~ “The difference between the almost right word & … [Read more…]
I have been ruminating lately about fear—how it has helped by keeping me sharp and motivated, but also how it manifests as writing anxiety and blocks me. ~~~ “I made a decision a long time ago that if I want creativity in my life – and I do – then I will have to make … [Read more…]
Reading other’s work will help you study story structure and analyze what works and what doesn’t so you can apply concepts of writing that resonate with you to your own writing. Here’s how to do it.