Tag: writing instruction

Time as a Literary Device: Unpacking the Parallel Timeline

One reason we might be tempted to use a flashback is to explain or to expound to artificially prop up weak characterization or a weak plot (the training wheel flashback). This is what good editors will cut. Then there is the other way to use time and that is time as a literary device. This is when our …

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Choosing a P.O.V.—What is BEST for YOUR Story? Structure Part 9

P.O.V. used properly can create entire worlds, and breathe life into characters. Used improperly, it can make your reader feel like she’s been bungee-corded to Satan’s Merry-Go-Round—not good.

Make Readers Suffer—Great Fiction Goes for the GUTS

What is the BIG question here? What is my character REALLY after? What will my story problem CHANGE about this character? What will it answer?

Selling LOTS of Books and Why Bright Ideas Can Go BADLY

I’m here to teach how to write a commercial product, which is something consumers want to…consume. Code for “buy.” Just because we are creating something commercial doesn’t mean it is less-than or “not” art.