A week or so ago I posted an essay on hook-development-climax that was almost entirely quotes from great works. I quoted hooks. And I quoted climaxes. I would have quoted development, but my fingers got tired. I wanted you to see exactly what constitutes a hook (why it’s short!) and… Read more“<em>Pulp Rag:</em> Planting a suspicion, revealing a glory”
Tag: editor
Evaluating an editor
Hey, guys! Jane Friedman of Writer’s Digest has a post this morning containing links to a whole plethora of stuff on her blog about the world of writing and publishing. Why am I telling you this? Well, for one thing, Jane and I had a chat on Twitter the other… Read more“Evaluating an editor”
Pulp Rag: Going beyond the beyond
Have you ever seen the movie Flatliners? I’m normally not into horror movies—I get grossed out just by squashed bugs—but I love that movie. I love the concept of what’s beyond the beyond. . . Read the full essay on Pulp Rag.
Pulp Rag: Mining yourself
There are no new stories, only new perspectives. Has anyone ever told you that?. . . Read the full essay on Pulp Rag.
Linking to the essays A.A. Milne
Now that I have completely polluted your minds with more business advice than you can possibly swallow, I’m bringing you a calming, refreshing mental yoga pose to get you through the weekend: The Essays of A.A. Milne. Milne, as we all know, was a fiction author. In fact, a children’s… Read more“Linking to the essays A.A. Milne”
Pulp Rag: Touching your reader’s core with resonance
Let’s talk resonance. Kathryn brought up a good point in the comments on that last post, Loving in the time of cholera. I was ranting about not introducing a pivotal character too late in your story, and she wanted to know: “When is too late too late?”. . . Read… Read more“<em>Pulp Rag:</em> Touching your reader’s core with resonance”
Querying
I try to stay up on the literary blogosphere. I read Twitter (never thought I would, but I do find a lot of links there). I check out posts on writing and querying and publishing. And I notice a remarkable thing—not a recent thing—but a stunning thing, when you think… Read more“Querying”
Pulp Rag: Loving in the time of cholera
I have this writer friend whom I love to death, but the guy has dislexia like nobody’s business, plus he doesn’t think of himself as an intellectual. He’s great if one of you has to climb a drainpipe to break into an upstairs apartment in the middle of a blistering… Read more“<em>Pulp Rag:</em> Loving in the time of cholera”
Pulp Rag: Hooking, developing, climaxing
I’ve got my statues against the sky. —Virginia Woolf, A Writer’s Diary I’ve got a confession to make. When I wrote the last post, I was trying to write a basic review of plotting. I don’t know what happened. It was Friday. . . Read the full essay on Pulp… Read more“<em>Pulp Rag:</em> Hooking, developing, climaxing”
Blowing your own mind
Let’s call this Blow Your Mind Monday and look at ways to approach your Work In Progress from mind-bending perspectives. Keep in mind that the more creative you are with brainstorming, the more time and daydreaming and investment you put into knowing your characters and what happens to them both… Read more“Blowing your own mind”