Author, Compulsively Readable Thrillers
A sting is a suspense technique designed to encourage readers to keep on reading, i.e., go to the next chapter. Think “cliff-hanger” and you’ve got it. But it can also introduce a character, action, or thought that makes the entire chapter that preceded it be viewed in a different light. For example, you’ve just written … Read more
That first sentence (or two) is critical. They must make the reader keep reading because they HAVE to know what’s going on. That means starting “in media res,” in the middle of things. Like these: “The man with ten minutes to live was laughing.” The Fist of God by Frederick Forsyth “The small boys came … Read more
People don’t speak with perfect grammar (except for your fourth grade teacher). So feel free to make your dialogue as colloquial as the character’s education and background dictates. Narrative, however, should always follow the rules. You might wonder whether that includes a character’s thought process (ie his/her internalizing or thinking, but not dialogue). The answer … Read more
You don’t need three adjectives before a noun. You don’t even need two. Adverbs as well. Look for opportunities to delete redundancies and streamline your prose. A lot of this fine-tuning happens during revision.
A common mistake writers make is this: “I was afraid of the man that held a gun in his hand.” Because “man” refers to a person, it should read: “I was afraid of the man who held a gun in his hand.” (Actually, that could be shortened to read “I was afraid of the man with a … Read more