Narrative flow can be difficult to define, which makes it difficult to understand. However, most writers are also readers, so you may be more familiar with narrative flow than you might think! While reading, have you ever: Found yourself turning page after page, unable to put a book down? Been so engrossed you haven’t noticed […]
February 10, 2014 by 6 Comments Outlining Your NovelHow to Make the Right Decisions for Your Book
Today, I’m guest posting over on Write to Done, with the post How to Make the Right Decisions for Your Book. Here’s an excerpt: How can authors know which choices are right for their novels? When you first sit down at your desk and start typing words into the delicious white blank of your computer […]
November 2, 2011 by 24 Comments NarrativeShould You Ever Use Unusual Narrative Forms?
When readers open a book, they usually know what they’re going to be getting. First- or third-person narrative voices, told in the past tense, in a linear timeline, are the most common narrative forms. Readers are familiar with these forms and comfortable with them, and, because these forms allow a nice blend of flexibility and […]
May 31, 2009 by 37 Comments ProseActive Voice vs. Passive Voice: How to Use Both to Get the Most Out of Your Writing
Most of us learned about sentences in grammar school. Most of us also promptly forgot all about them after grammar school. This is why, I presume, the art of correctly using the active voice and the passive voice in our fiction is something almost all of us have to relearn at some point in our […]
