by admin | Jul 14, 2019 | Craft of Writing
We’ve all slogged through novels with boring, predictable, or chit-chat dialogue. In many genres, dialogue makes up half of the novel, so dialogue can make or break your bond with readers. You can learn how to craft purposeful, quotable dialogue, by discovering and...
by admin | Dec 23, 2017 | Craft of Writing
With 1 million books are published each year, how do readers find books by new authors like me? Discoverability. They can’t find what they can’t see. Word of mouth is always the best form of advertising. And may God bless my enthusiastic readers for...
by admin | Jun 11, 2017 | Craft of Writing
Having wrestled with scene cards, cork boards, Post-It Notes and other tools to organize a story, I found one that works for me. In the interest of full-disclosure, I am a plotter and a visual learner. Partly this storyboard concept comes from the four-act structure,...
by admin | Feb 19, 2017 | Craft of Writing
Once the urge strikes to compose a novel, I draft a rough outline and launch into research. For my third novel this meant learning about boats–specifically Trawlers. Part of the story takes place on a trawler, so I needed to understand how they operate,...
by admin | Jun 12, 2016 | Craft of Writing
As a career journalist, I had point of view thrashed out of me by professors, editors, and colleagues. “Unless you’re a columnist,” they’d say, “keep your point of view to yourself. Just report who, what, where, when, why, and how. Stick to the facts. Quote notable...