Hi, all! I have several free writing booklets, and I want to make sure that you have access to them if you want any or all of them! Do you want any of these? I’ll add the direct link to the download page just in case the live link doesn’t…
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Introducing Ratafia, the Regency lady’s indulgence. Those of us who read and write Regency-set historical novels (set in the early 19th Century Britain) are often presented with food riddles. What is jugged hare? And how about scotch collops? Not to mention spotted dick! We also notice that the Regency era…
Your Story Conclusion Story endings are literally anticlimactic– that is, the conclusion comes after the climax scene. But you don’t want the end actually to be an anticlimax, an afterthought, something stuck in there so the reader will know the story is over. What an effective ending can do is give…
COMMAS – The Traffic Cops of Sentence Meaning Punctuation’s main purpose is to signal to the reader what parts of the sentence go together. And more complicated information leads to complicated sentences! So be sure and go over your paper looking for sentence problems. Fixing those will help you communicate more…
I just thought I’d summarize a few things you might look for when you’re revising a paragraph or passage:
I know I’m not the only writer kind of obsessed with point of view, so I thought I’d talk about one aspect of POV — which character should narrate a particular scene. Often this is an easy decision, but if you’re having trouble making the scene as dramatic or deep…
Sometimes writers are told, “Put a comma in when you pause.” We do tend to pause at the end of an element like this, but some of us also pause in other places too! But remember Christopher Walken, who speaks… very… slowly. He pauses so much if he put a…
CHARACTER AND SETTING INTERACTIONS: 10 QUESTIONS TO BUILD YOUR STORY PLACE Here is a quick exercise to help you explore your protagonist’s relationship with the setting. Just free-write on the questions. Look for conflict and character-building opportunities. Also look for possible events and places where events might take place. See…
Get out a scene you’re working on, and let’s see about drafting and then revising. A lot of writers bore themselves by planning a scene too much in advance. This scene, how about just sketching the very basic events? Try choosing a big scene, like The Reversal, or The Point…
Telling vs. Showing We’ve all heard the writing aphorism, “Show, don’t tell.” Yes, all the critics have the solution to vague, talky, directive stories and passages. Show, don’t tell! Don’t tell me Sarah is angry– show her kicking the trashcan over! It’s great advice. Today’s readers want a more interactive…