The em dash can be a great tool to speed pace and create realistic dialogue. Dash placement matters when formatting dialogue that contains sudden breaks. What causes these breaks? The character who is speaking cuts his own dialogue short. One character interrupts another’s dialogue. The narrator breaks up dialogue. Why It Matters As with other…
Category: Wish, Wonder, Write!
writing tips, how-tos, and insight on novel writing
More Important or More Importantly?
You’ve probably seen the phrase written both ways. This article discusses more important/ly as an introductory phrase. After reading it, you should have a good grasp of why more important is the best choice. More Important A copyeditor I spent good money on changed an introductory more important to more importantly in my manuscript. Later,…
Literary vs Genre Fiction
On an agents “wish list,” you found the term literary sitting among a hoard of genres. One genre, science fiction, describes your book. However, your story includes literary devices. It holds abstract ideas subject to interpretation. Your main character may fight alien peacekeepers, but he’s on an “internal,” coming-of-age journey. For those reasons, you think…
The Footnote as a Literary Device
Footnotes don’t have to be boring digressions. In fact, they can be quite helpful. Norton anthologies are loaded with footnotes. They shed light on aspects of a work or the circumstances of an author’s time. This gives context to a story, which aids in comprehending and analyzing a work. A dictionary might describe information in…
Novel Beginnings
Story endings often get all the attention. However, it takes a good beginning to motivate a reader to read to the end of a book. Just as an entire story usually has a structure that holds it together, so does a beginning. By “structure” I don’t mean it’s a rigid one. But the beginning shouldn’t…
Tweak Your Style: A Quick Lesson In Clarity
Good literature isn’t a chore to read. A character performs an action, and I know what’s going on without having to reread sentences a hundred times. Even if the character is figurative, such as a personified earthly element, that subject’s action verb should stand close by: “Light twinkled off the water while Darkness lurked below.”…
Truth: A Blank-Page Writing Strategy
Many people forage for knowledge about writing. They skim through books at Barnes and Noble, read blogs and magazines, and watch vlogs by editors, authors, and agents. Occasionally, the foraging reaps priceless, insightful quotes from famous authors. Faulkner’s “Kill your darlings,” which I discuss in another article, helps me after I complete a first draft….
How to Write a Novel
Would you love to write a novel but don’t know where to start? Do you fear you’re not good enough to write a novel? If so, this article is for you. Writing is a craft that requires honing and a process as unique as each writer. Consider what you learn here and elsewhere, but do…
How to Turn a Real Place into a Fictional Setting
Is there a place you frequent that gives you a sense of peace, or whose natural or man-made elements intrigue you, maybe even prompt you to silently describe them was you walk along, taking it all in? If so, consider it a potential setting for your novel. You may have to make adjustments to custom-fit…
My First Novel: How I Wrote It and What I Learned
When I started writing my first novel, I didn’t realize the endeavor would lead to a continual quest for knowledge. Not knowing anything about novel writing, I “pantsed” my story until I hit the proverbial brick wall some call writer’s block. Asking myself questions, researching my story’s subject matter, and researching story structure helped me…