I think people laugh because it’s bizarre and they feel better about themselves in comparison, but a small part of them is nodding in recognition because they too once wondered why Jesus wasn’t considered a zombie.—the Bloggess You’ve been hearing it from me for months now: the Bloggess found this… Read more“Interviewing the Bloggess”
Month: June 2010
Re-discovering the punch
I have worked and reworked my short story from flash fic into a 20,000 word novella and back to a 5000 word story. Now I feel it has lost the punch it had when I first wrote it, but I can’t seem to identify what it was that made it… Read more“Re-discovering the punch”
Basing plot on character motivation
Dear Editor, I recently watched The Road. I hated the movie because I felt like the stupid decisions the characters made were the only thing furthering the plot. They jumped back and forth from the frying pan to the fire so often, I was kind of hoping they’d just go… Read more“Basing plot on character motivation”
Negotiating with a publisher, with & without an agent
Dear Victoria, I’ve just been offered my first book deal by a professional digital publisher. They’ve sent me a deal sheet and asked if I have an agent or if I will be doing my own contract negotiations. As I’m a new author and have been focusing my efforts on… Read more“Negotiating with a publisher, with & without an agent”
Finding good info on outlining
Question: where to find good info on outlining?—@art1032 Answer: The Art & Craft of Fiction: A Practitioner’s Manual and The Art & Craft of Story: 2nd Practitioner’s Manual. I’m not being flip, either. I devoted the biggest part of the biggest divisions of my books to plotting. You know why?… Read more“Finding good info on outlining”
Tension on Every Page:
the Donald Maass & Lisa Rector interview
Donald Maass is the head of Donald Maass Literary Agency in New York, selling more than 150 novels every year to major publishers in the U.S. and overseas. He is the author of The Career Novelist (1996), Writing the Breakout Novel (2001), Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook (2004) and The… Read more“<em>Tension on Every Page:</em><br>the Donald Maass & Lisa Rector interview”
Expositing
You know, as hard as I’ve tried to get a good understanding of exposition I don’t really have a clue. I’ve begun to think of it as anything that isn’t dialog, action or description. Is that correct?—Jeffrey Russell Pretty much, Jeffrey. In a nutshell. People tend to get confused about… Read more“Expositing”
Interviewing Donald Maass & Lisa Rector
Independent editors definitely are part of the publishing landscape now. Is it an extra burden of expense for writers? You can look at it that way, or you can see it as a level of professional help that was never before available.—Donald Maass, Donald Maass Literary Agency Welcome to June,… Read more“Interviewing Donald Maass & Lisa Rector”
Revealing hidden relationships
My Main Character has no idea she has a sister. Her nemesis knows the truth but doesn’t want to admit it unless it serves her purposes. She actually wants to step into the MC’s life, to have everything the MC has. How do I make it so that people don’t… Read more“Revealing hidden relationships”
Putting your best foot forward
Hi Victoria! I’ve written what I feel is a great book. My readers love it. But I know that a well-written book isn’t enough to land an agent. How can I tell if my story stands out enough? I read plenty in my genre, so I know how it’s similar,… Read more“Putting your best foot forward”