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 »

We’re always told (and it’s good advice) to “write the story that is in you.” But since we’re also concerned with selling that story to others, readers’ expectations are something to keep in mind. These are not exactly the same as readers’ tastes or the kinds of book they like. Taste varies radically from individual to individual, and its origins lie deep in the person’s psyche. Not much we as writers can do about that, because there is no one … Read More »

Here it is, November again—National Novel Writing Month. Every year, writers throughout America pledge themselves to produce a 50,000 word novel before the clock strikes December. Thanksgiving can make this good intention the road to a nervous breakdown, but just having a goal of some sort and a nation full of colleagues to hold you to it is bracing. No doubt many people actually do write a complete novel (is 50,000 words really a complete novel?). And that is admirable … Read More »

I recently watched a workshop on screenplay writing that presented some ideas every novelist can use to advantage. With my own embroidery added, I’d like to share one of them with you (and my thanks to J.V. Hart). That idea is the nemesis. Not just an antagonist, an opponent, but a character that represents everything your protagonist fears, so that, in fighting her nemesis, your gal must confront her own self. First, the Antagonist Of course, they are also an … Read More »

Amazon has just come out with Vella, a new format for e-novels: the buy-by-the-episode serial. For readers, it’s less awkward than it sounds logistically, and the serial novel has a long pedigree stretching back at least into the nineteenth century. For writers, it’s a whole new adventure. I’ve just wet my toes as a serial writer and thought I’d share some reflections with anyone who’s interested in being part of this new market. Pitch ‘Em Right The best-selling genres seem … Read More »

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 »