Whether you’re an indie author or shopping your work to agents, there’s no better investment you can make in your manuscript than to spring for professional editing. I don’t mean a do-it-yourself program that hunts out verb and subject agreement. I mean real, live editors—people who have spent their careers reading books, especially in your genre, and who know the English language cold, including all the slippery areas that change from generation to generation. Who can bring a fresh and … Read More »

One of the most important aspects of any novel that aspires to literary quality is the depth of the characterizations. Unless the book is completely plot driven (is there any such book?), it’s through the characters that readers will be able to identify with and be drawn into your story and your world.  This becomes a particularly acute issue in historical fiction, where strange names, customs, and world views may make identification just a little bit harder for many people. … Read More »

Characters should be relatable, we all know that. But do they have to be likeable? I once had a reader comment of one of my protagonists, “That was the most disagreeable character since The Great Gatsby.” My first reaction was “Wow! Me and Scott Fitzgerald in the same sentence!” But then I realized I didn’t come off too well in the comparison. However, there’s food for thought in that reader’s remark, because The Great Gatsby is a highly successful novel, … Read More »

Not too long ago, I talked about the new Vella serial format and how one of the traits of a serial is to end each episode with some kind of cliffhanger to keep pulling readers along. But any novel can profit from the delight we take in not knowing what’s going to happen next. Especially when what does happen is completely unforeseen! Let me spin out a few thoughts for your reflection on the related qualities of suspense and the … Read More »

Writer’s block (shudder). Nobody needs to tell us wordfolk how painful and frustrating that condition that freezes up our creativity can be. But you know the old saying: “When life hands you a lemon, make lemonade.” Yes, fellow authors, even writer’s block can be put to good use to further our literary careers! I’m not guaranteeing that you’ll thank the Powers That Be for a spell of block, but at least you won’t have to look back on it in … Read More »

With the holidays so recently behind us, January seems like a good time to reflect on wrapping packages—that is, on tying up all the loose ends in our plots, down to the smallest questions in a reader’s mind. I wrote recently about reader expectations, and here’s a biggie. Although a certain ambiguity may be thought-provoking, basically anyone who picks up your book has the right to find her questions answered. This embraces all the areas where any mystery has existed: … Read More »