We’re focusing on the romance genre this week. If you write urban fantasy or another genre, don’t be dismayed. Ideally, there are things you can glean for yourself even in a discussion about the romance genre. Miscellaneous goodies: In 2013, romance sales were $1.08 billion The audience for romance is 84% female, 16% male Romance … Read more
Sometimes I am a dumbass. I know you find it hard to believe, but it is true. Some of my professed dumbassedness is self-inflicted. I go against my gut, or more often, my schedule, and I get myself dug deep into some pit of Hell I don’t want to be in. This happens with good … Read more
Social Media Primer I know that you don’t want to hear this, this whole writing is a business topic. Really. I do. It is important, though, and so I am going to continue on before I return to my regularly scheduled topics. As I mentioned last week, publishing is a business, and you, the writer, … Read more
For the last several weeks I’ve been meeting deadlines, editing, and reading through the submission inbox at Literary Wanderlust. Several of the pitches I received were decent. A few pitches were good. One or two pitches were really good. Regardless of the pitch quality I still read through each submission, including the synopsis and chapters. … Read more
After last week’s post on POV, I’ve been thinking about POV rules. I was contacted by someone asking about the particular POV they must use to write a story in a particular genre. It irked me. Not the person asking the question, but the whole POV rule concept. There are some out there in internet … Read more
Point of View I was at Colorado Gold Writer’s Conference last weekend, and I honestly do believe it is the best writer\’s conference in the United States. The workshops were spectacular, so much so that even NYT best-selling author Jeffery Deaver sat in workshops and took notes. It reminds me that there is always more … Read more
Typically, when writers think Character Arc they think of the main character’s inner transformation. In other words, the lead character starts with a specific point of view, but because of the need to change their beliefs in order to address the conflicts that arise, the main character is a different person by the end of … Read more
It’s now time to discuss our favorite part of the story: The Climax. The Climax in storytelling is exactly the same as it is in other areas of your life. The Climax is that highest or most intense point in the development or resolution of the story. It is that moment of greatest intensity. It … Read more
The purpose of the Point of No Return scene in your plot is to force your character to move toward the final goal according to the plot type you have chosen. For Overcoming the Monster, the Point of No Return scene forces the main character to pursue the only course of action available to them … Read more
I was contacted on social media yesterday by someone else with plot issues. Their story was episodic with no regular plot structure and their story also had no inciting incident. This means that the story had no specific beginning, middle or end, and the possibility that it will sell is slim. First of all, I … Read more