Fiction
Love stories
This month I posted about the significance of Valentine’s Day on another blog. I wanted to share some here because after all I’m an inspirational romance writer so romance/love is important to me in my profession. Valentine’s Day is a day we celebrate romance or better yet love. I’m not necessarily talking about the love…
Quick Fiction Fixes – Settings and Contrast to show emotion
We’re all busy, whether working full-time or chasing/chauffeuring kids around all day. Yet we’re also writers, striving to get our words on paper and then polish it to a sparkle. This column gives quick fixes for fiction manuscripts specifically for busy writers. Pick and choose what works best for you! Setting: One of the best…
Quick Fiction Fixes – Show don’t tell emotions, part 2
We’re all busy, whether working full-time or chasing/chauffeuring kids around all day. Yet we’re also writers, striving to get our words on paper and then polish it to a sparkle. This column gives quick fixes for fiction manuscripts specifically for busy writers. Pick and choose what works best for you! Show don’t tell: Writing emotions…
Violence Against Women
Okay, now that the title of this post has snagged your attention, here’s an issue I wrestle with in my own writing. How do you feel about portraying violence against women? A rape scene, a beating, a murder. I would imagine the answer will differ between the sexes and what end of the writing you’re…
Kisses From Heaven
Some days are filled with kisses from heaven. Those times you can catch the heartbeat of God, feel the breath of His approval, sense the longing of His gentle correction. At our Catlett Christmas, I got a very vivid reminder that this dream of writing is a gift straight from His heart that He has…
What a Fiction Editor Can (and Can’t) Do For You!
Can Do A good fiction editor can take a manuscript that has potential and help it reach that potential. This may include different types of editing and can often take as much as forty hours of work for a detailed, substantive edit of an average manuscript. When you get your manuscript back from a freelance…
Quick Fiction Fixes – Show don’t tell emotions, part one
We’re all busy, whether working full-time or chasing/chauffeuring kids around all day. Yet we’re also writers, striving to get our words on paper and then polish it to a sparkle. This column gives quick fixes for fiction manuscripts specifically for busy writers. Pick and choose what works best for you! Show don’t tell: Writing emotions…
Quick Fiction Fixes – Emotion Memory
We’re all busy, whether working full-time or chasing/chauffeuring kids around all day. Yet we’re also writers, striving to get our words on paper and then polish it to a sparkle. This column gives quick fixes for fiction manuscripts specifically for busy writers. Pick and choose what works best for you! Emotion Memory: Brandilyn Collins talks…
Special Invitation to Proposal Writing Teleseminar
I’ve got a great opportunity for you to start this year off on the WRITE foot! A proposal seminar by Terry Whalin, editor, agent, writer and marketer on Wednesday January 9th, 2008 at 4pm PT (7pm ET.) Is one of your goals this year to get that book idea out of your head and into…
Finding the Theme in Your Story
Let’s talk about story themes. Stephen King, in his book On Writing (Pocket, 2000) has this to say about theme: “Writing and literature classes can be annoyingly preoccupied by (and pretentious about) theme, approaching it as the most sacred of sacred cows, but (don’t be shocked) it’s really no big deal. If you write a…