How to write a romance? Contrary to what some people seem to think, writing a romance is no easier than writing any other type of book. In fact, if writing romance and relationships doesn’t come naturally to you, it may be harder than writing any other type of book. Writing a straight-up romance where there … [Read more…]
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…]
With almost a dozen published novels and novellas under my belt, I thought I’d figured it all out by now so far as writing a series–you know, how to write a sequel. In my adult romances, a “sequel” usually featured a secondary character from a previous novel, promoted to the role of protagonist. Occasionally, a … [Read more…]
Since I spent the summer teaching writing workshops for both adult and teen writers, I’ve been thinking more about the basics than I usually do. I’ve been thinking about plotting and structuring a young adult novel. So I thought I’d talk today about the most basic of the basics–the structure of a novel, and specifically, … [Read more…]
So you want to plot a book… Not every writer is a plotter; I realize that, but I’m also a strong believer that your writing will be more efficient if you have at least some idea where your story is going. So, if the idea of writing out a hundred scene cards or even following … [Read more…]