Aspiring authors often seem puzzled that their work isn’t read more carefully, or positively, or even at all, when they send their work out to an agent or an editor. Those would-be authors aren’t thinking enough about the competitive pressure on the gatekeepers’ time. Editors and agents have a lot of hot projects, and to… [Read more…]
November 22, 2008
There are several things that drive a novel’s fictional story from the first pages. Think of a story as a kind of journey, something with forward motion. If you think of the metaphor of an automobile, the plot of a story might be considered the engine, the motive power. But something is needed to propel… [Read more…]
March 27, 2008
“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” – Anton Chekhov (1860–1904) According to Britain’s The Guardian: When 25 noted authors were asked in 1987 to name the most crucial influences on their own work, Chekhov was cited by 10 of them, including Eudora Welty, Nadine Gordimer,… [Read more…]
February 18, 2008
In my quest to convince emerging writers that a compelling opening for a novel can be an intriguing description of place . . . here’s the start of a 2004 fantasy for young readers, a book I’m currently enjoying, The Sea of Trolls, by Nancy Farmer, 3-time winner of a Newbery Honor award. Jack woke… [Read more…]
The Writer's Handbook
June 23, 2009
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