Sentences – Part 1
If we break a book down into its constituent parts, starting with the smallest part, we get the following: words – sentences – paragraphs – scenes – chapters In the last blog, we…
Writer’s Art Blog Posts
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Show VS Tell in Writing Your Book
One of the surest ways to liven up your story is to look for passages where you’ve told when you could have shown. Consider the following: Sally looked at her daughter’s growing belly…
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Who Said What – Speech Tags
When writing dialogue in fiction, there’s many ways to ascribe speech to your characters. These indicators are called speech tags. The most common way is to use the word, said. “Don’t forget to…
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Unnecessary Death in Fiction
Imagine the headline: America’s Most-Loved Dog – Snoopy, Dead at 87 Beloved Beagle Flattened by Eighteen-Wheeler “I’m devastated,” said Charles ‘Charlie’ Brown, longtime owner of the charismatic, but aloof pooch. “I don’t think…
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Make Your Readers Beg
Withholding – Making Your Readers Beg Withholding is a subtle art form. Remember, you’re not withholding from your reader, you’re withholding from your protagonist. But when you withhold from your protagonist, your readers…
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How to Write a Fight Scene That Packs a Punch
Preparation – Writing a fight scene does require a bit of patience. And unless you’re an expert in various forms of combat like sword fighting, you’ll probably need to do some research as…
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How To Make the Most of Punctuation
How to Properly Use Punctuation in Fiction I love the saying, There are five rules for writing fiction. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are. As aspiring writers, we all want to know…
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Finding the Right Word
Struggling to Find the Right Words in Your Writing? Finding the Right Word – Taking the extra time to construct your sentences with just the right words is worth the effort. Using…
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Abs – Overt Expectations in Fiction
ABS (Solutely Not) (Overly) Great Expectations Don’t you love it? You meet a character in fiction who spends his nights drinking and carousing. Then he passes his days lounging by the pool, drinking…
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Overcoming Writer’s Block
Overcoming Writer’s Block Silencing the Inner Critic – Overcoming writer’s block sometimes involves shutting up the little green monster that sits on the writer’s shoulder (particularly the beginning writer) telling them that everything…
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Edit Your Book
Why You Should Edit Before You Send to An Editor Editing your book – what’s the point of editing before sending to an editor? Does a book editor charge extra if my work…
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Editing Your First Draft
Whether you’re self-publishing your book, sending to an editor, or to a publishing company — ideally you want to send your ultimate best work — even if you’re having someone else edit it…
