Although we seldom think about them, conjunctions are among the writer’s best friends. They make it clear what the relationship is between one action and another—and that’s what writing a story is all about, isn’t it? Unfolding events seen as cause and effect, not just random, unsequenced episodes. “Conjunction” means a “joining together,” but that only tells a small part of the tale. For example, look at the conjunctions that appear in that first paragraph: although and and. And certainly … Read More »

Much can be said in praise of silence (is that a contradiction in terms?). There are at least two kinds of golden silence that can add to the power of our writing, just as the “space between the notes” is the silent power of music. You can probably think of more, but here are a few of my reflections. Silence of the characters We all work hard to make dialogue lifelike and pithy. Sometimes the trailing thoughts of real-life speech … Read More »

We’ve just enjoyed the FWA Book Expo last month, and one of its most delightful aspects for me was the author interviews, in which I was privileged to take part. It was fascinating and affirming to hear other authors speak about their experiences and how they go about their writing! Thus I’d like to share a few reflections this month on the value of being part of the larger community of writers. I’ve spoken before about belonging to writers’ groups … Read More »

Sales figures make it clear that memoirs are a huge genre today. But that’s not what I want to talk about by saying “using life as a foundation for art.” Poets already know this secret, so let me address myself to novelists. My topic is: don’t neglect to take the straw of your own life and spin it into fictional gold! What does that mean? Well, it can means incorporating in your novel things that have actually befallen you. They … Read More »

The saying goes, “Tell your readers everything they need to know and nothing they don’t need.” Simple enough: make it “juuust right,” like Baby Bear’s porridge. But how do you know how much is enough… or too much? I wish I could give an easy answer. If we take a look together at the possibilities, I bet you can come up with an answer on your own that fits your writing style. Too Hot! First, there’s the danger of too … Read More »

We all know that the more reviews a book receives, the better—whether reader responses on Goodreads, BookBub, or Amazon, or professional editorial reviews. But writer, beware: the more reviews pile up, the more likely it is that one or more of them will be bad. That’s statistically inevitable. There is no one book that everyone likes (except maybe Harry Potter). People’s tastes and expectations are too varied. You try to pitch your work to those who “like that kind of … Read More »