Amid all the demands for authors to show, instead of tell, it can be easy to forget telling is still a vital part of any story. There are moments when summarizing is a decidedly better choice than dramatizing. The Reverse of the Medal, the brilliant eleventh installment in Patrick O’Brian’s esteemed Aubrey/Maturin series, offers several examples […]
January 19, 2011 by 25 Comments CharactersHow to Make Readers Feel Your Characters’ Emotions
I’m going to go out on a limb and speculate that your story forces your character to experience some pretty deep emotions. They might fall in love, or undergo the agony of a family member’s death, or even be wracked by guilt. Whatever the case, how do you go about portraying those emotions so powerfully […]
January 9, 2011 by 74 Comments Most Common Writing MistakesMost Common Writing Mistakes: Are You Using “There” as a Crutch?
When used as a pronoun, the utilitarian word “there” becomes an insidiously easy way for writers to get their point across. “There” gets the job done, no doubt about it. But using “there” at the beginning of sentences and phrases is the lazy way out. Whenever you see the word “there” used as a pronoun, […]
December 22, 2010 by 18 Comments DescriptionWhy Writers Must Resist the Urge to Explain
Because it’s so important readers get what you’re trying to say in your stories, it can be tempting to explain things point blank at every juncture. Avoiding confusion is vital. However, when you fail to master subtlety, you not only rob your stories of added power and depth, you also risk frustrating readers with patronizing […]
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 […]
October 10, 2010 by 17 Comments Dialogue6 Ways You Can Use Dialogue in Your Story
Dialogue is one of the hardest-working components in fiction—but only if you take full advantage of it. It’s easy enough to make your characters talk to each other and even relatively easy enough to make what they say interesting to readers. But if interesting is the only burden your dialogue is carrying, it’s not doing […]
September 22, 2010 by 32 Comments DialogueWhy Every Protagonist Needs a Dialogue Buddy
Although some successful novels feature lone-wolf characters who face the world and its challenges by themselves, clever authors will sidestep the pitfall of leaving a main character without someone to talk to for the majority of the book. Your protagonist’s fellow conversationalists can be varied and multitudinous over the course of the book—but usually, you’ll […]
September 1, 2010 by 21 Comments NarrativeHow to Write Compelling Narrative
Modern authors are taught the only way to keep readers’ attention is keep the writing action-oriented. You must show not tell, dramatize your scenes, and keep characters doing and talking and in the moment every step of the way. These so-called rules are prevalent for good reason. Readers read because they want to see the […]
July 18, 2010 by 39 Comments CharactersHow to Find Powerful Motives for Your Characters
You will often be judged by what you do. To a large extent, you are what you do. However, because others’ perceptions of your actions don’t penetrate to the reasons behind your actions, you will often be judged incorrectly, or even unjustly. It’s no different for your characters. In a book, as much as in life, a person’s […]
June 13, 2010 by 33 Comments CharactersCreate Powerful Character Arcs in 6 Steps
The secret to a memorable character isn’t so much creating a strong personality as it is creating a strong character arc. You can come up with the most entertaining, marvelous characters imaginable, but unless you also give them powerful character arcs, their stories will lack depth and power. Character arcs are fundamentally about change. You can […]
