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Creating the voice you want for your story or novel begins with Word Choices. It continues with control of your sentences. I emphasize control because many writers–well, they just write. Without consideration of sentence structures. Sentences, as the basic building block of the written word, need careful attention. You can write long, short, simple, complex, [...]
Voice begins with the right choice of words Each story or novel has its own diction, or the group of words that could be used for this story. For example, a historical fiction would have different word choices than a romantic comedy. Of course, there’s lots of overlap, but each story has certain words that [...]
Importance of Sentence Variety My niece was here this weekend and we talked about her college writing experience. She said they try to change her habitual writing of high school into something more sophisticated. For example, they eschew the five-paragraph essay, rightly so. Instead, they look for more sophisticated structures. But when I teach writing, [...]
Do you ever type up someone else’s picture book or a chapter from someone else’s book? I do. I find that just reading a selection, even reading aloud, doesn’t
I am almost sad and depressed today. Why? Because I’m looking at the wrong things. Writers of picture books or novels must remember to pay attention to their work, not the audience’s appraisal of their work. The Audience is Always Late The audience is always late to the party. When I sold The Journey of [...]
Christmas Gift for Our Readers For the last few years, I’ve posted writing tips from Winter Holiday personalities. For example, Frosty the Snowman has 6 Top Writing Tips. This year, as our Christmas gift to you, we’ve collected these into one downloadable pdf. Winter Writing with Kids FREE download. Celebrate the Season while Teaching Kids [...]
How do you create tension in a story? I’ve been talking with a friend and his gut instinct is to withhold certain information, for example, the exact location of the scene. Story Tension In How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy, Orson Scott Card says that tension is created by withholding “what happens next.” You [...]
I’m still looking for a way into a new novel. So, here’s my plan for today: experiment with voice. Starting with Voice I’m reading Finding Your Writer’s Voice: A Guide to Creative Fiction by Thaisa Frank and Dorothy Wall. While I don’t like every exercise they suggest, there are some interesting ones. For my purposes [...]
I’ve been thinking about the narrators chosen to read various books-on-tape . As I revise my current novel project, I wonder– who be chosen to read my current WIP? I need suggestions! The Voice Problem One of my favorite fantasy titles is Lirael by Garth Nix, the the first book in the Abhorsen Trilogy. This [...]
This is an attempt to summarize and organize the comments on my posting last week about voice. Thanks to these writers for making comments: Janni Simner, Joni Sensei, Sarah Miller, T.E. Wymer, Lori Van Hoesen, and Linda Urban. Apologies, if I’ve misconstrued anything. Read the full discussion. Voice: A summary of comments What is Voice? [...]
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