Got a story you’re itching to get out, but worried there’s not enough material to turn it into a full-length novel for adults? Consider following the lead of Jackie Minniti and her novel Jacqueline, written for middle grade readers. It’s the simple, straightforward tale of a little girl in France during the Second World War. The story relates the fictionalized account of her father’s experience there as an American GI. Jacqueline’s family clings together, her own father missing in the … Read More »

“Revision is one of the exquisite pleasures of writing.” Perhaps Bernard Malamud’s quote is overstating it, but revision is certainly where the hard work of writing takes place. And it can be overwhelming. Everything from the flow of the story arc to the grammar and spelling checks are done during this stage of the process. While trying to do a revision for every aspect of the story at once can be overwhelming, focusing on one small area can be a … Read More »

Writing a story with a physical villain? Whether our hero’s adversary is an eighth-grade bully, a civilization–busting alien super villain, or a historical bad guy from our culture’s point of view, they all have one thing in common. They think they are justified in their actions. To get into our villains’ heads, we have to empathize with them. All Villains Want to be Understood Our stories benefit from outlining our hero’s backstory, whether that backstory is revealed or not. It … Read More »

Are you a mystery writer? If so, do you write “Hard Boiled” or “Cozy?” Since I write in the genre, it’s important for me to know where my stories fit on the mystery spectrum. Yet these days that gradient is crowded and murky. It’s confusing, but I think my protagonist is the key to the answer. In what was arguably mystery’s golden age when Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Mickey Spillane and Ross Macdonald were making their marks, a clear partition … Read More »

Imagine your story’s protagonist is a standup guy or gal. The main character, the one who stirs the cocktail. But you find that the protagonist is missing something, and getting plot points out there seems awkward. Her character is a bit flat. Could be, she needs a foil. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “foil,” when used in the writerly, literary sense, as “someone or something that serves as a contrast to another.” Simple and straightforward, that. Think Lou Costello to Bud … Read More »

Question: Why should your protagonist be special? Answer: Because that’s what will make your reader sit up and take notice! I find that engaging with the struggles of a sympathetic protagonist is key to enjoying the fiction reading experience. Perhaps it’s even one of a reader’s greatest pleasures. Why do little girls love the story of Cinderella? Why have versions of that tale about a vulnerable girl’s triumph over a cruel stepparent been around since ancient Egypt and maybe before? … Read More »