In this episode, we meet a young woman in big trouble… Run the Gauntlet (RTG) is a free program where courageous writers submit their opening scenes for live developmental review. The feedback is recorded in real-time, on-screen, and then posted publicly so that we can all share in the insights garnered. In this live critique: … Continued
Passive vs. Active Characters: From Zero to Hero From romance to Russian Lit, and memoir to middle-grade, almost all bestselling stories are centered around active protagonists. Understanding the difference between passive vs. active characters is vital in terms of reader engagement and commercial viability. So why are active characters so important? Let’s start by looking … Continued
The 5 Narrative Writing Modes: Dialogue, Action, Description, Exposition & Thought Today we explore the five narrative writing modes every fiction and memoir writer must master for dynamic storytelling. My research of this subject began when I shifted from screenplay assessment to fiction editing. I’d often wonder why, in film adaptations, the book was … Continued
Hint: Sell the sizzle, not the sausage. Today we look at how to write a great sex scene, so steel yourself for lots of bad puns and double-entendres! The suggestions below are most relevant to writers of romance and erotica, where love and sex form the heart of the plot, but writers of all narrative genres … Continued
Guest Post: Five Plot Structures for Bestselling Novels By Katja L Kaine So you’ve got an amazing story idea, but the question remains: how to turn it into a great novel? There must be as many different ways to write a novel as there are novel writers. Some of us like to create vast spreadsheets mapping … Continued
And hook the reader from page one… The first step to writing a great novel is introducing us to a compelling character; i.e. someone we can understand and empathize with. If our introduction to the character falls flat, it doesn’t matter how engaging or complex the protagonist later proves to be, the reader won’t be … Continued