Author, Compulsively Readable Thrillers
We’ve heard the cliche “Less is More,” but what does it mean? Is it just something Chandler and Hammett fans thought up? British crime writing is more florid, and it’s allowed to be. So what is it all about, anyway?
Let’s move onto language. Are you a language person? What does that mean? Even if you’re not, what do you need to know about the prose you write? The main point is that language has power. Listen on…
You’ve heard it over and over: “Show, Don’t Tell.” But do you always need to do it? And just how do you do it without making the book a lot longer than it should be? Watch this. I talk about both Lee Child and Michael Connelly’s work.
All your characters, whether major or minor, have their own character ARC. That means they change. It may be a small change; it may be a huge one. But to write fiction is to write about characters, and unless they are stereotypes you include for a reason, a three-dimensional character needs to change. Here’s more. … Read more
When I finished my first manuscript and sent it to an editor, she broke the news to me that my characters sucked. That they weren’t believable, they did things because I wanted them to, not because it was in their nature. I learned the hard way that I’m really not in charge of my characters … Read more
There are many exercises and techniques with which you can experiment to develop your characters, but this is my favorite. I use it all the time with important characters, and once I get into it, I’m always surprised to learn who a character really is, what shaped them, what motivates them, and how they’re going … Read more
How many times have you stayed up waaay too late reading a book, because you just had to read one more chapter? In this video I discuss how to end your chapters so that your readers won’t be able to put your book down. How’s your Nanowrimo novel going? Comments welcome.
Hi, again. Here is Nanowrimo Writing Tip #2 — Beginnings. I’m still talking about suspense, but this time I start at the beginning: The all-powerful first line. I’ll talk explain how to approach it, then give you some of my all-time favorite examples. It is a little longer than I anticipated (at three and a half minutes) but hang … Read more
Hi, all. In honor of National Novel Writing Month, I decided to repost my Writing Lite video series. I hope you find them useful, even if you’re not participating. There are twelve videos, and none are over four minutes– most are under three. I’ll try to post a few each week so you have them all … Read more