Author Archives: knlistman

A more likeable villain than hero?

Posted on December 9, 2021 by knlistman

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 , , , | 2 Comments

The fantasy fad

Posted on December 3, 2021 by knlistman

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 →

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What were you thinking?

Posted on November 17, 2021 by knlistman

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 →

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Language fashion trends

Posted on November 10, 2021 by knlistman

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 →

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The need for criticism

Posted on November 3, 2021 by knlistman

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 →

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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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