A common problem I often come across when editing fiction is a situation where characters are shoved around the story like chess pieces. Margie the protagonist winds up slapping her best friend not because Margie would ever slap her best friend but because the plot requires the best friend to be slapped. Authors often commiserate…
Authors often use beta readers to give them feedback on their work and I think this can be a great way to get a sense of a reader’s experience of the novel. That’s why I have a Beta Reads and Critique Partners forum for Club Ed for Writers members. A thoughtful reader can tell you…
I recently read The Story Paradox by Jonathan Gottschall, which is all about the dangers of storytelling. If you’re interested in learning how stories work, you’ll want to set aside some time to read this book. I wanted to talk about a point he makes early in the book, which is that stories where the…
When I’m writing, I rarely listen to music because the words of the lyrics interfere with my words. If I need to drown out the kids across the street, I will listen to white noise or an instrumental station on Pandora. Sometimes, though, if I’m doing something like giving feedback to students, where the lyrics…
We often talk about telling stories, but how to tell a story is something of a misnomer for novelists. A novelist needs to show the story. Undoubtedly you’ve heard the old advice, “Show, don’t tell.” And you may have heard that yes, indeed, you can and should sometimes tell. For example, you don’t need to…
If you’re struggling with your story, one of the best ways to get started is to use a common (that is, frequently used) plot structure. If you start writing with an idea of the kinds of story events that have to happen in your story, it is easier to focus on the other aspects of…
One of the ways I beat procrastination is to play little games with myself. For example, “I’m going to fill up this notebook before my flight leaves tomorrow.” I’ve also counted things down on Facebook: “Going to write 1,000 words this afternoon.” Then “500 down, 500 to go.” Then 250, 50, and none. I have…
When you’re a writer, everything is material. This makes us sort of strange and awful, if we’re being honest. I remember one of the first things I thought after my daughter was diagnosed with horrific, debilitating disease was, Well, this is going to make a quite a story someday. I flinch whenever I think about…
Authors are sometimes worried about getting feedback on their work because they’re afraid it will be “ripped apart.” It’s perfectly understandable to feel a little nervous about feedback – after all, you want your work to be perfect. You want other people to love it the way you do. But you know there are probably…
One of the challenges in taking writing and publishing advice from other authors is that they usually know only what works/worked for them. An author who has only been publishing for a little while has a very limited experience to draw from. I understand why published authors want to give advice despite not having expertise…