Archives for October 2012

The Right Kind of Drama in the First Five Pages

(…Yes, there’s a Wrong Kind.) If there’s one big place to easily make mistakes in setting up scene, it’s in the beginning pages of a novel. Of course, as story-tellers, our desire is to grip our readers with something memorable in those first five pages — something dramatic. We’ve all been told how important it […]

Committed to the Journey (Part 2)

(…continued from last week…) So, if I used to be one of those writers driven more by validation than by love of story, what changed? I’m glad you asked. 🙂 It was easy to recognize the pride and impatience in others. One critique partner expressed to me that he “didn’t have time to write a […]

Committed to the Journey

Why do you write? That question has surfaced various times over the years, usually in writer’s groups meetings or at conferences. More recently, it’s become the one question that I believe has determined my path. It’s pretty easy at first, when your heart is full of the marvel of creating, and your eyes are full […]

The Name Game

I’m in the research and rough draft stage of a new novel. This phase led to planning a genealogy for the male character in the novel. Names are important. They are especially important when writing a time specific book. Would you name a futuristic alien Joe? A Biblical setting would evoke certain names. Contemporary names […]