Scene Beginnings We are focusing on scenes for the next few weeks, and this week our focus is on the beginning of a scene. Each scene should have a purpose which moves the story forward, or gives the reader information on the characters, or shows new action and conflict. As a reminder, a scene is … Read more
How long? I expect that some of you will be pissed off at me by the end of this post. I am okay with that. Not because I want you to be pissed off at me, but because I want you to be the best writer you can be. Recently, over coffee with a fabulous … Read more
Introduction Scenes are the visual building blocks of the novel in which your characters live (very much like theater productions and movies). Scenes placed one after another make chapters. Multiple chapters tied together make novels. You might consider writing your novel using the scene and sequel technique (see Scene and Sequel posted September 2, 2015) … Read more
I volunteer for Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers because they are a non-profit educational organization who teaches the craft of writing mass market fiction for writers of all skill levels. Their annual conference in September is like attending four years of craft classes crammed into three days. Yeah. It’s gratuitous product placement for anyone wanting to … Read more
I’ve written several stories over the years, but my most recent work in progress is an urban fantasy novel. It’s actually the first thing that I think is not crap. Now, I realize that I am overly critical of myself, so for me to think it’s not complete crap is a good sign. I’ve decided … Read more
I am in hardcore editor mode this month. Deadlines are looming. Contracts are pending. Submissions are stacking up. Layouts, covers, audio books, and revisions are in process. And I am ecstatic about all of it. Needless to say, I digress from my genre specific theme of recent weeks, partly because I have other things on … Read more
One category of novel that has been generally out of vogue because of low sales is western fiction. Sales increased by 7% in 2014 but are still low overall. If you write westerns, you write for a niche market, but readers of westerns are die hard for the genre, and if they like you, they … Read more
We’ve been roaming around the speculative fiction category for some stretch of time, and this week we are focusing on a subgenre of fantasy called urban fantasy. Fantasy and urban fantasy can be quite similar. Fantasy as a genre usually includes some magical or supernatural elements, and so does urban fantasy, and so does paranormal romance, … Read more
Snark alert! I thought I would say this up front so those of you who don’t want to read snarky comments from an editor can find something else to read. Still here? Okay. Here’s the deal. I want to publish your novel as much as you want me to publish your novel. Pitching isn’t hard, … Read more
As we continue our exploration (no pun intended, or maybe it is…) of genre specific topics, our focus this week is science fiction. SF usually deals with topics and ideas set the future, such as science, technology, space travel, time travel, extraterrestrials, and the like. The ability of the writer to create a world which … Read more