20 Questions to Help Improve Your Dialogue

Paulo Campos at Yingle Yangle http://www.yingleyangle.com/2010/07/20-questions-to-help-improve-your.html 20 Questions to Help Improve Your Dialogue One of the biggest let-downs as a reader is weak dialogue in a story successful in every other way. I think, “people do not talk this way,” over and over. I read The Stand a few months ago. I enjoyed it so much […]

10 tips for great storytelling from a PowerPoint novelist

http://blogs.office.com/b/office-show/archive/2010/08/18/10-tips-for-great-storytelling-from-a-powerpoint-novelist.aspx 10 tips for great storytelling from a PowerPoint novelist Doug Kim 18 Aug 2010 9:00 AM Comments 1 People do astonishing things with PowerPoint, but author Jennifer Egan has brought PowerPoint into a whole new level: literature. She’s written a chapter of her latest novel, “A Visit From the Goon Squad,” (Knopf) entirely in […]

I have to sell my book as well as write it?

This is a guest post from Paul Lonergan, an author, a ghost-writer and a copywriter. For more than 20 years he’s been using words to sell everything from stock-broking services to beauty products to industrial cleaning products and more. And the big secret? The product might change but the techniques don’t. It’s all just product… […]

CJ Lyons teaches how to Break Free from the Slush Pile

Orange County Chapter of Romance Writers OCCRWA.org CJ Lyons  Break Free from the Slush Pile http://www.cjlyons.net URGENT CARE, “Lyons continues to mesmerize readers…pulse-pounding.”~Fresh Fiction WARNING SIGNS, “Lyons is a master within the genre.” ~Pittsburgh Magazine LIFELINES, “A breathtakingly fast-paced medical thriller.”~Publishers Weekly CJ Lyons http://www.cjlyons.netURGENT CARE, “Lyons continues to mesmerize readers…pulse-pounding.”~Fresh Fiction WARNING SIGNS, “Lyons is a master […]

Five Rules of Exposition

http://thescriptlab.com/the-formula/character/dialogue/36-exposition-five-rules Exposition: Five Rules EXPOSITION: FIVE RULES One of the tricks is to have the exposition conveyed in a scene of conflict, so that a character is forced to sway things you want the audience to know. As, for example, if he is defending himself against somebody’s attack, his words or defense seem justified even […]

Writer’s Vacation

Writer’s Vacation Posted by Shonna Slayton Published in Creativity I’m convinced that a writer takes a vacation quite differently than most people (photographers and other artists notwithstanding.) Planning: If at all possible, the writer will finagle an entire family vacation around the future setting of her next book. No matter if the book takes place […]

The 4 Story Structures that Dominate Novels

The 4 Story Structures that Dominate Novels August 24, 2010 by  Orson Scott Card All stories contain four elements that can determine structure: milieu, idea, character and event. Here’s a look at each one and how each will affect your novel. All stories contain four elements that can determine structure: milieu, idea, character and event. While […]

Your Screenplay is Not Your Baby

http://thescriptlab.com/the-formula/script-tips/795-your-screenplay-is-not-your-baby Never refer to your script as “my baby”. If you’re guilty of this offense, clearly we know that you’re passionate about your story, which is good. But it also makes your ability to be objective with the material suspect. And you must be objective. Subjective emotional attachments can blind you from the truth of […]

Grants and fellowships for writers

http://miraslist.blogspot.com/ GRANTS. FELLOWSHIPS. RESIDENCIES. RESOURCES. Mira’s List is a resource for artists, writers, composers and others in the arts. Here you will find up-to-date information, great links, interviews with artists and deadlines for grants, fellowships and international residencies. Money, time and a place to create. http://library.gmu.edu/resources/creativewriting/writinggrants.html [GMU Creative Writing Web Guide] National Endowment for the […]

agent advice

Agent Barbara Poelle On: 6 Things Writers Can Do To Make Their September Rock Barbara Poelle is an agent with the Irene Goodman Literary Agency, representing thrillers, literary suspense, historical romances, humorous/platform driven nonfiction, and upmarket fiction. Barbara’s co-agent, Irene Goodman, offers manuscript critiques on eBay every month, starting on the first day of each […]