In fiction, authors aren’t always able to sketch every detail of a character’s actions, feelings, appearance, and surroundings. Particularly in the current trend of minimalistic descriptions, we’re lucky to get away with even two paragraphs of description. This can present quite a problem for authors who want to paint a vivid picture in their readers’ […]
February 2, 2011 by 13 Comments NarrativeControl Your Speed, Control Your Pacing
Controlling and influencing your readers’ experience of your story is one of your most important jobs as an author. One of the most trustworthy ways to accomplish this is through pacing. In a sense, pacing in a story is like the soundtrack in a movie. Like the ominous music before a murder or the swell […]
January 5, 2011 by 26 Comments Researching Your NovelAre You Writing What You Know?
Many writers rebel against the oft-quoted command about “writing what you know.” My automatic response to this stricture is the rhetorical question, “Why on earth would I want to write what I know? I live what I know. When I write, I want to explore people I’ve never met, places I’ve never seen, and situations […]
December 29, 2010 by 27 Comments DescriptionHow to Bring Adjectives to Life
As a writer, you’re always being told you’re not supposed to pile on the adjectives to describe something. But how else can you share with readers the nuanced vision you see in your own mind’s eye? David Guterson’s lyrical study of life and death in East of the Mountains offers a surprisingly simple and effective […]
December 19, 2010 by 64 Comments Most Common Writing MistakesMost Common Writing Mistakes: Are Your Verbs Showing or Telling?
One of the most common bits of life-sapping “telling” found in a story’s narrative is also one of the easiest for writers to overlook. It’s also, fortunately, one of the easiest to correct. How Telling Verbs Can Block Reader Participation Take a look at the following impromptu example and see if you can spot the […]
November 28, 2010 by 8 Comments DescriptionThe Pros and Cons of Writing Description
“Nothing bores me faster than description.” You’ve probably heard readers make that comment. Perhaps you’ve even made it yourself. In the face of the modern impatience with pages (or even paragraphs) of descriptive narrative, it’s easy for writers to overreact and decide to avoid description altogether. After all, you can’t afford to do anything that […]
November 7, 2010 by 31 Comments Researching Your Novel4 Ways to Avoid Writing Dated Fiction
Conscientious writers work hard to get story details right. You want the language your characters use to reflect their lifestyles and personalities. You want their books, movies, magazines, and music to ring true in your recreations of the real world. And you need all the references and explanations of technology, style, and even health care […]
November 3, 2010 by 10 Comments Story Settings2 Rules of Creating a Fabulous Setting
Setting is sometimes the neglected stepchild of the writing world. We lavish attention on our characters and plot, but sometimes forget how powerful a fabulous setting can be. Some genres, particularly those that fall within the realm of speculative fiction (fantasy and science fiction), tend to give more attention to setting, simply because their stories […]
August 4, 2010 by 15 Comments DescriptionHow to Use Details to Enhance Readers’ Suspension of Disbelief
Truth may be stranger than fiction, but fiction is plenty strange, especially in this era of vampires, dragons, time travel, and who knows what else! Because readers are accustomed to far-out premises that stretch reality all out of shape, most won’t blink an eye at a story that features any number of unbelievable phenomena. But […]
June 30, 2010 by 29 Comments Story SettingsUse All 5 Senses to Bring Your Setting to Life
Unlike movies, which are inherently visual and auditory, your written fiction depends solely on your power of description to evoke reaction of the senses from your readers and bring your setting to life. This is tricky business, since you want to bring the scene to life, but you don’t want to bore readers with lengthy explanations. So […]
