Mentoring young writers toward fiction writing excellence
Naomi Musch is the author of the inspirational novel The Casket Girl, a romantic adventure of the French and Indian War. She and husband Jeff enjoy epic adventures in the northwoods with their five young adults.
“I want to make my story longer.” That’s something I hear a lot of young writers say. Excited about embarking on a first novel-length work, the tendency is to get a little bit stuck on what to add to the Big Middle to lengthen the WIP. If that’s where you’re stuck right now, here’s what [...]
I saw this quote on Facebook recently, and it got me to thinking. New writers sometimes don’t recognize when their novels are carrying extra weight. They have the tendency to think they need to add more “stuff” to fill the pages. Then, in trying to expand the story to fill a couple hundred pages, they [...]
I read a pretty popular novel recently, written by a fellow author in my genre, and I enjoyed it. I might have given it a solid four stars. BUT, I mentally only awarded it a three-star effort for one single reason. Near the end of the story, the author seemed compelled to explain the lessons [...]
You often find writers and reviewers speaking of a story’s layers — whether they viewed those layers as in-depth or lacking. Layers might be defined as the presence of subplots. Subplots, when broken down, are often scenes strung together that reveal a closer look at a hero’s personal life in a way that exposes deeper [...]
It is tempting, when you see a contest listed on a blog or website, to whip out a story and to send it in promptly. It is tempting, when you hear of a magazine’s or publisher’s call for submissions, to spin off a piece that will suit the theme and to submit it soon before [...]