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I am working on a novel revision for an editor and I expect to turn it in by Monday. But today, as I was reading through one last time to polish everything up–oh, my gosh!–there’s still so much work to do. Last Minute Revisions At this point, it’s not major structural changes or big plot [...]
Publishing is the Auctioning of the Mind, Says Emily Dickinson A Sestina by Darcy Pattison (c. 2011. Please do not reprint without permission.) A woman sits before a computer. Her writing time drags by. Idle stories clog the screen with black and white squiggles. The woman’s mind is bare. She’s kept nothing back. The auctioneer’s [...]
Design Star Finds Voice Last night, I watched HGTV crown the new “Design Star,” Meg Caswell. I had watched some throughout the season and the judge’s commentary always made me think of the writer’s voice. One of the challenges of the Design Star is to meld entertainment and solid interior design, making information fun. While [...]
Do things get worse in your story? Then you are using some sort of progression: good, worse, worst. That’s excellent, because you want the story characters to increasingly feel the conflict and tension of the story. But are you using the BEST progression possible? In my current revision, I am checking my progressions to make [...]
It seems like all I am doing is printing out my WIP right now. Of course. Revising a novel is always a circular process. Get it Right the First Time Some authors get it right the first time; others claim to get it right the first time. For experienced writers, who are used to editing, [...]
Using the 3-Act Structure: Adjusting Expectations Most writers use a 3-act structure and for good reason. It works. Act 1: 25% of the length, sets up the story conflict and ends when the main character (MC) commits to doing something about the conflict. Act 2: 50% of the length, develops and deepens the conflict and [...]
Write Nonfiction for Kids? Break out with a High-Concept Idea A high concept book is one that takes a universal theme and puts a fresh, original creative twist on it. It can be explained in two or three sentences, and will leave you wanting to read the book or in the case of writers it [...]
So What? That’s the question you must get past in your fiction. Why should a reader care? Keep Reader’s Interest: Make Everything Matter More The best way to make a reader care about your story, your novel is to make things matter more, put more at risk, up the stakes. Personal Stakes This can be [...]
A couple bits of personal news: My picture book, PRAIRIE STORMS, comes out in August. The illustrator, Kathleen Rietz has done monthly coloring pages, and here’s the July page! Please LIKE the Prairie Storms Facebook Page for monthly coloring pages. And please let your friends with kids know about the monthly nature coloring pages. The [...]
Creating Suspense to Strengthen the Narrative Arc Great novels grab your attention and never let it go until the reader looks up from reading, “The End.” That’s a given. But it’s not always easy to grab that reader’s attention. What you need is suspense. Suspense is created by an uncertainty about what happens next in [...]
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