Narrative is basically anything that’s not dialogue, which means it includes dialogue tags and action tags. Whereas grammar rules can be ignored, if desired, when writing dialogue, those rules should be followed with narrative. If you’re not sure about the rules, there are books (Shrunk & White’s Elements of Style; Lynne Truss’s Eats, Shoots & […] [ ... ]
Dialogue is used for a variety of purposes. To convey information To help define character To break up the monotony of long passages of narrative and provide more white space on the page Dialogue tags are the narrative that tells the reader who is speaking. “Good morning, students,” the teacher said. “Help!” she screamed, hoping […] [ ... ]
One of the first decisions a writer must make when starting a story is whose point-of-view (pov) to use? Will the author tell the story? A narrator? One of the characters? Several of the characters? At the end of the 19th century and early part of the 20th century it was common for an all […] [ ... ]
Normally I would go from formatting to point-of-view or verb tense when writing about craft, but last week I read two items that I wanted to share. According to UNESCO over 2.2 million books are published each year. The word “over” is because the count only includes books with an ISBN. There are also many […] [ ... ]
Unless you’re writing solely for yourself (and maybe for your family and a few friends) you need to know the craft of writing: formatting; point-of-view; chapter length; what tense to use, and so on. Although getting the story you want to tell out of your head and into some sort of printable form is the […] [ ... ]
If all goes well, and if you read this blog on January 13, 2016, my husband and I are now in Panama City, Panama. While here, we’ll be doing a couple days of sightseeing. Friday we’ll catch a plane and fly to Bocas del Toro. From there we’ll take a boat ride to one of […] [ ... ]
When I hear someone talking about giving a pitch, I think they mean they’re going to pitch a story to an agent or editor. However, last Saturday I attended a meeting for a start-up Sisters-in-Crime chapter where the program was to be “Pitches,” and discovered what we’d be doing is “Pitching” our books to the […] [ ... ]
Do you have something you’d really like to accomplish? Some place to visit? A certain book to write? A painting to paint? Person to see again? Skill to learn? This past year has really pointed out to me how important it is for a person to—as the Nike slogan says—Just Do It! In 2015 two […] [ ... ]
I’m in Florida now. Today the temperature reached 83 degrees. Having grown up in California, it doesn’t seem strange not having snow on the ground at Christmas time, but I will admit, having lived in Michigan for a few decades, I’ve grown to enjoy that white stuff covering the ground and making tree branches glissen. Snow makes everything look […] [ ... ]
Last week I received my Authors Guild Fall 2015 Bulletin. In it one article echoed the feelings I’ve had this year. Roxana Robinson, AG President, wrote “Should Writers Be Performers?” Her point, which I feel is true, is that over the years publishing houses, large and small, in order to help their bottom line, have […] [ ... ]
I don’t know about others, but I’ve always found December to be a difficult time to be a writer. Holiday parties, luncheons, dinners, and family gatherings can mess up a writing schedule. There’s gift buying, cards to be written, mailed, received, and read. When my children were young, my writing schedule had to be forgotten […] [ ... ]
The last Killer Nashville Conference session I want to summarize was on Short Stories, ranging from Flash Fiction (which might be anything from a few words up to 1000) to short stories that are nearly novellas. The panelists for this session were: Ray Anderson, Kay Elam, Robert Mangeot, Carolyn McSparren, and Debra Goldstein. Flash Fiction […] [ ... ]
(*see the end of this post for offer.) Thanksgiving is a time to get together with family and friends and be thankful for the good things that have happened in our lives. I feel especially blessed. Forty-eight years ago I met a man who over the years has been everything we romance writers want in […] [ ... ]
During the Killer Nashville Conference I attended, there were two sessions on short stories. The Friday session was titled: “Using Short Stories and Articles to Promote Your Novel.” Since I have two short stories I’ve been working on that are connected to novels I have had published, I was eager to attend this sessions. Members […] [ ... ]
I attended two sessions during the Killer Nashville Conference that dealt with marketing. On Friday afternoon Kay Kendall, Debi King McMartin, Anne Marie Stoddard, Julie Schoerke, and Jerri Ledford discussed “The Do-It-Yourself Publicist.” Later that day Claire Applewhite, Darryl Bolinger, Ray Peden, Nancy Sartor, Maryglenn McCombs, and Stacy Allen discussed “How to Launch a Book.” […] [ ... ]
Before I talk about the conference I want to let everyone know that my recently released e-book, Destiny Unknown (formerly published as a Loveswept romance) was advertised in one newsletter as being offered for .99¢ on Kindle starting today. I didn’t realize I needed to wait 30 days (after enrolling the book) before offering a promotion, so […] [ ... ]
Tomorrow I’m flying to Nashville to attend a writers’ conference (Killer Nashville). I’ve been attending writing conferences for more than thirty years, and I always come home having learned something. On Saturday morning I’ll be on a “Romantic Suspense” panel. I’m feeling a bit unprepared. Although, in the past, I’ve written what I (me, myself) […] [ ... ]
Last week the Authors Guild put out a survey regarding how much writers’ earnings have dropped. The survey covers the years 2009-2015. The results aren’t overly optimistic. I thought I’d summarize a few of the key points. I recommend going to this site and reading the entire report. Author Earnings Survey Wages: For full-time authors, […] [ ... ]
I’ve been looking at books I’ve written over the years, and I’ve discovered I either have a very limited “name” vocabulary or I simply like certain names. Carl keeps showing up in my books. No, he’s not the same person. He’s never been a hero. (At least not as far as I can remember, and […] [ ... ]
The other day I had lunch with two writer friends, and we started talking about point-of-view, which segued into the difficulties of writing first person pov, which segued into writing past tense or present tense. Lately I’ve read several books written in the present tense. It usually takes me a page or two before I […] [ ... ]