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Tone: Is your Romance Sensual or Intellectual?
I am currently reading Eleanor and Park, a YA romance; one of the interesting things about this story is the author’s choice to create a sensual tone. It’s not sexy or intellectual. The choice of tone is interesting because often a romance can devolve into physical stuff of sex. Instead, Rowell walks a fine line…
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Get Your Tone Right
“Young man, don’t speak to me in that tone of voice!” When you see that bit of dialogue, you know that a boy is talking sarcastically or disrespectfully. We understand that it’s not just the words said, but it’s how the words are used that conveys an attitude. Humor, irony, satire, pleasantness, excitement, righteous indignation–the…
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Does Sentence Structure Affect Tone?
Tone is the overall feel of a story. Does this sound depressed, joyful, or hopeful? Beyond that, though, tone can determine the audience for your story. One of the main differences between a middle grade and YA, or a YA and an adult story, is the tone of the piece. Tone reflects the author’s attitude…
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Novel Revision: 4 Goals to Polish Your Story
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,…
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Where Did the Summer Go?
Where did July and August go? Computer Woes. First, my server has been wonky for the last two weeks–apologies. If you have any difficulty getting to pages, please send me an email so I can straighten it out (darcy at darcypattison dot com). Travel. For me, this summer included a great two-week trip to China.…
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Revise Grand Entrance Scene to Set up Character Relationship
Working on a novel revision, I realize that I need to refocus the relationship between two characters. The question is where to start. Grand Entrance for Your Character I once heard the late Sid Fleischman talk about the importance of giving a character a Grand Entrance. Think about a stage play, where a character sweeps…