Tag Archives: Fiction

The Terrifying Part of Horror

The terrifying part of horror is often the nature of the threat. Perhaps only one lucky survivor remains alive through a traumatic adventure out of sheer luck. The terrifying part of reading horror is realizing how much of it is … Continue reading

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Imaginary reality

Everyone writes from their experience. That is all some writers ever do. Henry David Thoreau only recorded his life experiences. James Baldwin and Ernest Hemingway wrote semi-autobiographical novels in addition to non-fiction essays and articles. Hemingway’s fiction contains thinly veiled … Continue reading

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Reading the lines… or the space between them?

Reading between the lines doesn’t refer to reading blank space. But, sometimes it is almost as difficult. It requires astute attention to pull out what is not explicitly stated in the text. How much should an author expect a reader … Continue reading

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My POV Journey

Initially, when I was eight years old, I started writing in the third person point of view and all my characters were animals. Did I mention that Black Beauty was one of my favorite books? A few years later, I … Continue reading

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More to a Name than I Imagined

The statue pictured is a highly stylized likeness of Jehanne Darc, which is displayed all over France even in areas far from her homeland of Domrémy. Those few words not in “normal” English may convince a reader that they really … Continue reading

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Grasping at Ideas

Books exist that relate the basics of writing stories: how to create plots that follow specific beats and pacing, how to develop characters and throw continual problems at them, how to use settings to enhance your story. But, all this … Continue reading

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The Language Quandary

  Recently, I was reading a novel in which a young woman spoke English with a lovely French accent. At least that is what the author told me. Her dialogue was written in normal, modern, American English which I could … Continue reading

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Breaking the speed limit

A thrilling fast-paced first chapter that pulls the reader into the story does not have the power to create tension for the entire story. A dramatic, edge-of-the-seat beginning might even decrease the tension. After the first thrill is over, the … Continue reading

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Idea generator

Honestly, if the vast majority of authors were confined to writing only about the kind of person that they are and only their experiences, most books would be a bit boring. Writers do not live the exciting lives that they … Continue reading

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The strength of your character’s likability

Readers do not respond to characters in the same manner that they respond to real people. If a protagonist annoys other people in the novel, showing the reader the interior of this main character to establish a creditable reason for … Continue reading

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