What kind of novel do you want to write? What kind of ending do you want: Happily Ever After (HEA) or a realistic ending? There’s only a right or wrong answer for you. HEAs are quickly consumed and deliver an emotional high for readers looking for a brief escape from…
Category: How To Write Fiction – Advanced Tips
Take your writing to the next level – from beginner to intermediate and advanced with these tips.
One Quick Reason Readers Cheer For Unlikable Characters
How do we get readers to cheer for unlikable characters? We cheer for anti-heroes and characters who are surly, have anger issues, and even questionable morals. Why? They all have one thing in common but it means we have go right back to the basics. I came across this post…
How To Use Description To Enhance Voice, Setting & Scenes
Description can bring a scene, place, or character to life, but too many or too few details, too much or too little specificity can break the fictive dream for readers. A reader will do 90% of the work creating a mental image of a character, their setting and the fictional…
How To Shut Out Writer’s Block So You Can Fast Draft!
Fast Drafting is a concept I first heard about from author Candace Havens. I have never taken her workshops, but I gleaned the concept from a handful of blog posts and ran with it. Jami Gold summarizes this writing technique: “Fast drafting entails getting the framework of our stories down…
How Relationships Affects How We Write Subtext
Adding layers of meaning for readers behind the dialogue (between the lines) adds some rich texture, conflict, authenticity, and understanding to story. Subtext is the silent conversation that happens while another topic is being discussed. Subtext can use euphemisms and other diversionary tactics to have a private or intimate conversation…
6 Questions To Discover The Power Imbalance Affecting Subtext In Fiction
Power or authority applies a filter to subtext, it affects how we perceive or interpret what we believe is actually being said. What Is Subtext? Subtext is the non-verbal communication expressed through what Psychology Today called “a silent orchestra” which is a combination of facial expression, tone of voice, posture,…