At a glance, it used to be easy to identify what a character was thinking, hearing, seeing, or saying BECAUSE the author would write: he thought, she heard, he saw or she said… The current trend is to remove such markers or filters to reduce the “narrative distance” between the character and the author. This … Read more
There are no definite rules for writing dialogue. But, there are suggestions: Try to make the dialogue progress logically. If one character asks a question, make sure the other character answers it. If you do a good job with dialogue, the reader can (almost) tell who is talking without a tag — that’s a real … Read more
Positives and Pitfalls for SciFi Writers The definition of flash fiction is a story of 1000 words or less. It is not a genre and it is not a poem. It is an art form of condensation and clarity, motion and surprise. It can be profound, often jarring and sometimes funny. The best science fiction … Read more
Most writers are familiar with word processors such as LibreOffice, Atlantis or Microsoft Word. Each has many settings to make the text of a book look good. If the appearance is good enough, then simply export the file as an EPUB file and you are done. But, good enough is often not. That’s when the … Read more
Over the past decade, it has become obvious to everyone that creating and reading fiction will be done through the e-book. Although Amazon (Kindle Digital Publishing) is the gorilla in the e-book world, it is still basically an e-book publisher. Amazon keeps that position because it provides end-to-end services from taking a digital book file … Read more
The third person omniscient point of view is the most open and flexible POV available to writers. As the name implies, an omniscient narrator is all-seeing and all-knowing. — David Mamet Once a writer decides to use a third person point of view (POV) the next question is: what is the SCOPE of that view? … Read more
Short stories are fun to read because they pack an unexpected emotional punch. However, short does not mean easy to write, or a formless type of expression. Quite the contrary, they are written and rewritten numerous times with herculean effort to be efficient, banish loose ends, conclude with a plot twist plus a memorable last … Read more
Writers are a creative group of people who have invented several satisfying ways to end a story. The Straightforward: The story problem is solved, conflict is resolved and the main character’s journey ends. This is the most common ending, a “happy ending”. The Shocker: Typical of horror, crime and thriller genres. Careful foreshadowing leads to … Read more
What allows an author to convert something familiar, important or truthful into a story that is interesting? Simple answer: a plot. A story is NOT your diary, your years working as a gallbladder surgeon or the truth that advertisements lie. Readers want a plot that pulls them from the beginning to the end with a … Read more
Editors, publishers, literary agents, and readers love edgy and quirky writing – but not at the expense of writing flow.— Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen Flow in writing is difficult to define, but readers always seem to recognize it. A flowing science fiction novel sucks the reader into the story, makes the unbelievable logical and prevents the poor … Read more