I’ve been pretty lucky with readers’ responses to my writing style. I’ve had so many questions about how I write the way I do, and what I try to explain to other writers is that I don’t write like that–I edit like that. When I’m writing a draft, I’m simply trying to get the words, … Continue reading The Challenges of Editing a Novel After the Drafting Stage
Fiction Writing
The Art of Ending Well: How to Write Satisfying Conclusions
Last week, I wrote about what finishing a book teaches you as a writer. This week, I wanted to take a look at what a good ending in fiction looks like. One of the first things I know about any story I’m writing is how it ends. For my current #WIP, I saw the final … Continue reading The Art of Ending Well: How to Write Satisfying Conclusions
More Unlocking the Magic of Writing: A Guide to Completing Your Novel
Are You A Plotter or a Pantster? We see these quizzes online—are you a plotter or a pantster?—and we’re supposed to fit neatly into one box or the other. If you’re not familiar with the terms, a plotter is a writer who plots out the story before writing and a pantser is someone who “flies … Continue reading More Unlocking the Magic of Writing: A Guide to Completing Your Novel
Modern-Day Salem Witches
Sometimes Characters Are Easy To Discover Sometimes when I’m writing a story I have to stretch a bit for a character as I try to figure out exactly who this person is. Writers are like actors in the sense that we have to understand the evolution of the characters we’re writing about. Sometimes I have … Continue reading Modern-Day Salem Witches