October, 2020. Not only is it the month of Halloween, it’s also October in the midst of a pandemic. Hence, the wearing of masks. For fun. Or not. The news, shopping sites, and the world of social media is flooded with all things mask-related. In light of the bombardment, I seized the opportunity to put the idea of a mask to good use as a writer. I found a definition that didn’t warn of impending doom:  A covering for all … Read More »

We all want our novels to be so full of sensual detail that the reader can imagine everything in technicolor. Is there such a thing as too much description? Clearly, every reader’s expectations — and every author’s style — is different, so “too much” is a range, not a point. Nobody has to warn us against purple prose. But is that really too much description, or is it bad description? A typical purple problem is to use an extreme amount … Read More »

Writers are often told their stories need to be organic. Sounds like something that makes sense when you hear it. But identifying elements that are inorganic, and even more challenging, trying to fix them, can be elusive. It can also be frustrating when you need a certain plot point for the progression of your story and it sounds like someone is telling you that you can’t have it. Let’s back up and define what organic means in terms of storytelling. … Read More »

Poems are not short stories. This may seem like an obvious statement, but so many times I see struggling writers that seem to think they need a beginning, a middle and an end in a poem — all things needed by story writers. Yes, there are certainly poems that are more narrative in nature, like ballads and epics. Many of these form the backbone to Western literature, like Homer’s tales, Beowulf, Spenser’s The Faerie Queene, Milton’s Paradise Lost, etc.  But … Read More »

One subject of writing craft that’s always fascinated me is the intersection of fiction and creative nonfiction. I’ve studied and read both over the years, learning that there’s a very thin line separating them. In most cases, a book’s label boils down to what the writer wants to call it. Or what they’re comfortable saying it truly is. This was one of the struggles I had with my first novel. With a professional background in journalism, I intended to write … Read More »

So far, we’ve tackled shaping your main character and developing powerhouse secondary characters that help your MC along their journey.  Next comes those background characters—the hair stylist who knows everything about everyone, the delivery driver who leaves behind a clue, the newsboy on the corner who overhears things he shouldn’t, the Good Samaritan who stops to help, and the psychologist who drives Uber shifts to give free advice. Like your primary and secondary characters, tertiary characters should be three-dimensional and … Read More »