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- No! I’m Not Insane
- Is “Show Don’t Tell” Good Advice?
- What Exactly is Imagery?
- The Writing Sampler
- Classics Don’t Qualify as Comps
- Dealing with Painful Critiques
- The Power of Laughter
- Scoring Your Sense of Humor
- Why Do We Read Emotions?
- Distinguishing types of laughter
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Author Archives: knlistman
Want a good tip?
Have you ever chatted with a person and mentioned publishing some work only to be barraged with requests for writing tips? Although we would long to be full of wisdom, providing that kind of information is not easy. Sometimes it … Continue reading
Posted in Characters, Creativity, Literature, Story structure, Trends in books
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A new definition of literacy
A child of mine made a joking statement that if we wanted to raise the level of writing we needed to lower the number of people who are literate. The supposed logic behind this suspect claim is that the books … Continue reading
Posted in Education trends, Fiction in education, intelligence, Literature, Trends in books, Writing trends
Tagged classics, genre, Literacy, Literature, reading levels
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A more likeable villain than hero?
One of the more popular trends in entertainment for young adults are superhero movies. The audience for these films is often people who are no longer young adults. In fact, some have not been in that category for decades. They … Continue reading
Posted in Characters, Generational differences, Writer's resource
Tagged hero, likeable, superhero, villian
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The fantasy fad
When I attended a seminar for writers of young adult (YA) books, the speakers were all writing fantasy works. Nobody seemed to be creating realistic young adult novels. There should be room for mine, right? Maybe not. When I coached … Continue reading
Posted in Creativity, Literature, Millennials, Trends in books, Zoomers
Tagged Fantasy, magic school, YA, Young adult
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What were you thinking?
The precise rules for dealing with thoughts are not recorded in standard grammar and usage books. There are opinions on how to do this based on current trends, which may become dated in a few years. One of these is … Continue reading
Language fashion trends
Speaking a language is a skill that we continue to do all our lives. If a child hears the language spoken properly, they will learn to speak it correctly without thinking about it. At least they will be speaking it correctly … Continue reading
The need for criticism
W. Somerset Maugham said, “People ask you for criticism, but they only want praise.” These were the words of his character, an artist in the novel Of Human Bondage, so it may not be Maugham’s real view. Or, was it? … Continue reading
Posted in Creativity, Literature, Self-awareness, Writer's resource
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How well do you know your characters?
Why is it difficult to write complex and interesting characters? Because I must resist the temptation to simply tell about them. I cannot get upset by readers who expect to jump into immediate action and learn all about the character … Continue reading
Posted in Characters, Literature, Writer's resource, Writing trends
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Mature content
As a grade school child, I read a book called Black Beauty. It was actually written for adults. In the first chapter the son and only heir to the family dies of a broken neck in the foolish sport of … Continue reading
Posted in Characters, Trends in books, Writer's resource
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Plotting against yourself
The plot may not be the most important part of the story. A plot cannot exist without characters. There are novels that meander so that the reader has a hard time unearthing the conflict. But, if this novel has interesting … Continue reading
Posted in Story structure, Writer's resource, Writing trends
Tagged cliche plots, Plot armor, plot holes
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Write about what? 