It’s all about bits of information. Authors write scenes in order to make the events in the fictional world seem real to the reader. You want your readers to be emotionally engaged in the drama. You want your readers to feel as if your characters are real. You want your readers to applaud your character’s … Read more
Motivation It’s been a few weeks but we are back! We are continuing our discussion of the topic of scene writing as a way to break down your novel into manageable chunks, and to consider each scene as an individual piece of the whole, but to also incorporate all the necessary elements into each scene … Read more
We’ve been discussing scene writing over the last several weeks, including the expectations for what constitutes a scene, what belongs in scene beginnings, middles, and endings, and setting up your scene for your reader. This week we will discuss scene senses. I like writing in scenes because using scenes breaks the writing process down into … Read more
Scene Setting When we discussed scene beginnings a few weeks ago, we said that each scene should have a purpose and an intention, and we mentioned setting the scene as part of the process of scene beginnings. This week we focus in more depth on scene setting. Scene setting is about giving the reader visual … Read more
Scene Endings We’ve been focused on scenes, the building blocks of novels, for the last few weeks. A scene is a three-part piece of your novel set in space and time, and should always have a purpose for being included in the novel. Scenes should move your story forward. Always. Scene endings can allow your … Read more
Middles We’ve been focusing on scenes for the last few weeks. This week our focus is on scene middles. Each scene should have a purpose for being there. Each scene should move the story forward. Each scene should provide important information for the reader. As a reminder, a scene is a small part of … Read more
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
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