Someone writing historical fiction recently told me she was planning a work set during the Civil War, but she was a bit overwhelmed. Where to begin? I could relate. My novel is set during the 1940s. It’s certainly not as remote as the Civil War in our collective memories. Some people don’t consider anything after … [Read more…]
How to end a chapter? What’s the big deal? When everything is all tied up, you move on, right? No. In fact, everything shouldn’t be “all tied up” until the very end. In the body of your story, there should never be a place where everything is 100% good. Sure, the characters can think things … [Read more…]
I’m sure you’ve heard the advice “show, don’t tell,” but do you really understand it? Are you telling when you could be showing, especially with your character’s emotions? Gestures are one of the best techniques a writer can use to show emotion or attitude of a character. Especially around dialogue, adding a gesture or … [Read more…]
When I first started writing, I’d never heard of motivation reaction units (MRU). What I did know, though, was sometimes things just didn’t seem to flow. Sections of prose would feel awkward and just not right. So I would re-read and re-word until they did. Even after I did know what motivation reaction units were, … [Read more…]
Procrastination… Life… so many things get in the way of actually finishing that book that you’ve been writing for what? Years? Ages? What can you do to get around whatever blocks are your path and finally just finish writing a book? 1. Be honest about why you haven’t finished writing your book. Write down your excuses … [Read more…]