Privacy Policy
Sports books are action-oriented, fast-paced and full of memorable characters; but the core of a sports bookâfiction or non-fiction–is people. Characters make sports interesting. Granted, these characters are constantly on the move and not inclined to deep musings about life. Yet, it is the character interacting with the unique aspects of a sports novel that [...]
Your villain can be strengthened in several ways. Wait. Do you HAVE a villain, don’t you? Do you need a villain? One question I often hear is, “Do I really need an antagonist/villain” Usually, these writers have the main character struggling against something like a storm, or an evil empire, or something more abstract. In [...]
Great Villains to Study and Imitate Harpercollins editor Susan Rich’s favorite villain are those in Roald Dahl’s stories. “I have great admiration for Roald Dahl’s villains. Farmer Boggis, Farmer Bounce, and Farmer Bean come to mind, the evil trio in Dahl’s Fantastic Mr. Fox. All three are boneheads, are united in their mission, and all [...]
Evil is live spelled backwards. The protagonist of a novel represents life; the villain, anti-life. How do you develop, strengthen and revise this important character? Count Olaf as the Ultimate Villainous Character Harpercollins editor Susan Rich, who edited the Lemony Snicket series of fiction for children, comments about the villain in these books. “Count Olaf [...]
Shh! Don’t tell anyone else, but my character just told me a secret. Great Way to Find Unusual Secrets One common complaint about a first draft is that the characterization needs to be deeper. In Sol Stein’s book, Stein on Writing, Chapter 16 talks about the secret snapshot technique. Stein recommends that you think about [...]
After eight years teaching the Novel Revision retreat across the nation, I’m pleased to announce that the workbook developed for that retreat is now available! Here’s the full details of the book. Novel Metamorphosis: Uncommon Ways to Revise Foreword by Kirby Larson ISBN: 978-0-9798621-0-6 Pub. Date: April 2, 2008 Retail Price: $18.00 Pages: 124 Trim [...]
Here’s a current schedule of my speaking. It may change at any time, because I’m in discussion with a couple people about other events. February 4 Ft. Smith Public Library, Ft. Smith, Arkansas. Children’s program. February 5 Mountain Home Public Library, Mountain Home, Arkansas. Children’s Program with book signing and Adult Writer’s Workshop. Feb 9-10 [...]
When you write something as long as a novel, how do you make sure the character stays in character? When you revise, there are several ways to check. Creating Consistent Characters Create a Bible for your character. It doesn’t have to be complicated, but have one file, or a couple note cards that list characteristics. [...]
First person point of view stories are introspective, selfish, all about me, me, me. Before you write or revise a novel using this POV, you should ask youself a couple questions. It’s All About Me, Me, Me. Main Character or Observer. Is the POV character the main character or an observer? Often it’s assumed that [...]
When you write a novel, or revise a novel, the default point-of-view and the most common used is third person. (Though, first person point of view is giving it a run for its money these days. ) The Versatile Point of View Think about point of view as a camera. In the 3rd person POV, [...]
Privacy Policy