If I may paraphrase Hemingway: To Had and Had Not. Or, if you prefer Shakespeare: To Have Had or Not to Have Had. Indeed, that is the question. The answer is not. “Had” clogs up the prose, acts as a crutch, and puts the action farther into the past than it needs to be. Past (Im)perfect Most novels and short stories are written in the past tense. Fine. Whatever happened happened. The writer is already doing their best to make … Read More »

Free is great, right? Who doesn’t love free? It’s especially fabulous when you are gearing up to write your first (or next) story. Settings, characters, and other story elements are free for the taking — in unlimited quantities! So forget about TP, grab your cart, and let’s shop ’till we drop! Your Genre Aisle This may be an aisle you’re already familiar with. You may have already written a story here, you’re continuing a series, or it may be a … 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 »

Oh, boy! You’ve finished your nonfiction book, and it’s been set in type, copy-edited, and proofed. You have the proof copy in your hand. Nice design, no typos, pages all in order, and everything. Now it needs an index. The publisher wants you to hire someone at your expense to index it. But you know your book and the subject matter better than anyone else. You can do this. You’ve seen some of those books that have been indexed by … Read More »

Attributions are those cues we give to the reader in order to keep him or her oriented about which of the characters is speaking at any point in a scene. “He said” and “she said” are of course the simplest and most obvious attributions, but they contribute nothing extra to the reader’s perception of what’s happening during the scene. And this is a terrible waste of opportunities for character development, plot advancement, and/or mood creation. There are a number of … Read More »

Denouement is a a French word, literally meaning, “untie the knot.” In the structure of a story, it’s the point near the end where the conflicts, entanglements, and challenges are resolved (untied and smoothed out, according to the French), bringing the plot to a satisfying and read-worthy conclusion. Choose Your Definition Some writers use the literal definition of the word as they resolve all of the turmoil they have to create in their work. I tend to use the term … Read More »