Author Archives: knlistman

How well do you know your characters?

Posted on October 27, 2021 by knlistman

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 →

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Mature content

Posted on October 20, 2021 by knlistman

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 →

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Plotting against yourself

Posted on October 13, 2021 by knlistman

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 →

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How do you say that?

Posted on October 7, 2021 by knlistman

The debate on how to write dialog well is often an unnecessary one. Our opinion of what makes good dialog depends on how we and the people around us speak. My stories tend to have a large amount of conversations. … Continue reading →

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Extended time generator

Posted on September 22, 2021 by knlistman

Time for reading and writing both come from the same pool of time. During one phase of my career I created training for an application called the Extended Time Generator. This allowed manufacturing supervisors to move chargeable time to different … Continue reading →

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Try a little name dropping

Posted on September 15, 2021 by knlistman

Imagine you are discussing a current government situation with a friend. You mention an insight you learned about behind-the-scenes working of government while in our capitol. Perhaps you briefly mention that when George Bush explained this the first time, you … Continue reading →

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Does being well-read help you write?

Posted on September 3, 2021 by knlistman

Despite the flood of self-published books, there are still agents searching the field of writers attempting to discover the next best-selling author. I read a long list of short blurbs written by these agents describing what they required of those … Continue reading →

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Talking yourself into writing

Posted on August 26, 2021 by knlistman

I was rather amused by a study about learning foreign languages which concluded that extroverts learned to speak a foreign language more rapidly while introverts mastered writing in it quicker. The finding didn’t require rocket science, just a definition of … Continue reading →

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Lessons in Chemistry

Posted on August 18, 2021 by knlistman

Chemistry–a subject in school that requires labs where students mix substances to observe what happens. However, the students spend much more time scribbling down equations on paper to calculate the result of reactions they never observe. Chemicals are often predictable. … Continue reading →

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Mixing past and present can get tense

Posted on August 12, 2021 by knlistman

Authors sometimes play with the parts of a novel, like wooden blocks that can be rearranged. What will happen if the middle of the story is inserted at the beginning, or time moves forward and then backwards? What if exterior … Continue reading →

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