By Glynn Young I recently reread David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, a work I had first read in high school. It was every bit as good as I remembered it. The most autobiographical of all of Dickens’s novels, it is full of intrigue, suspense, betrayal, meanness, kindness, and love. I would even go so far as to call it a …
Destroy to Create?
By Dennis Ricci “In the creative process, the whole idea is to destroy ninety percent of your work.” I heard those words eight weeks ago at the Robert McKee Story Seminar in Los Angeles. At first his principle struck me as a brute-force approach–produce one hundred pounds of ore from which you extract ten pounds of story gold. Then I …
Recalculating
By Ane Mulligan I love GPS. When I grew up in Southern California, everything was laid out in a grid; streets ran north and south or east and west. There would be an odd diagonal street, too. If you missed your turn, you simply went around the block and came at it again. Not so when I moved to Georgia; …
Writing Historical Stories
By Diana Wallis Taylor A friend of mine who took a hiatus from writing due to health concerns, went to lunch with me and said she felt God was leading her to write again. She wanted to talk about writing about her grandmother who came from Ireland possibly as a mail order bride. She wanted to know how I went …
Two Tips to Get Past “I Can’t Write”
By Beth K. Vogt I’m on deadline. Being on deadline means writing is mandatory for me. I’ve signed a contract that includes a due date to submit my manuscript to my publisher, which is an author’s ticking clock that creates tension in our lives, just like we create tension in our characters’ lives. Barring some unforeseen catastrophe, such as an …
Persist . . . or Play?
By Sarah Sundin Once again my life paralleled the lives of my characters. While writing my latest release, When Tides Turn, I’d promised to not become overwhelmed by work, but I had. Only one thing to do—power through. Or so I thought. Instead, other lessons popped through. Stay the Course “Stay the course” is the motto of the novel’s hero, …
How to Make Your Writing Shine
by Liz Curtis Higgs Whether you’ve yet to be published or have a shelf full of novels with your name on the spine, here are four simple steps to improve your writing: read, write, listen, and refine. Read the best books in your genre, from time-tested classics to the latest award-winners. Study the rhythm of the words, the balance between …
Description That Draws the Reader Into Your Story World
By Ane Mulligan Description serves more purpose than simple describing a place or person. It can enhance or detract from a scene. It can be used to deepen characterization or confuse. Here’s some questions to ask yourself as you write: 1) Will the description draw my readers into the scene? 2) Can they picture it? Can you picture it? 3) …
Draw Me Nearer
By Cynthia Ruchti One of the topics I most enjoy teaching at writers’ conferences is “Deepening the Emotional Connection.” The more connected readers feel to our stories, the more likely they’ll read past the first page, the first chapter, all the way to the end. And then keeping thinking about those characters and their plight days or weeks later. Consider …
Take It
By Tomi Leslie Yogi Berra, a Hall of Fame baseball player, contributed much to the MLB. But I remember him more for his contribution to our American language? Berra was a sportswriters’ favorite mainly because he had numerous expressions and twists of phrase that were memorable. Many of his comments did not make any sense. At the same time, though, …