I see it all the time. A teen or new writer has talent. Real talent for story telling. Story structure comes naturally to them, and if they’re voracious readers, then that’s not a surprise. But the biggest problem I see in these talented writers is that they write in the passive voice. Passive writing can be good story telling,…
We set up our author/writer/speaker Facebook page as we have been advised to do repeatedly by agents, successful writers, and conference speakers. We tell everyone we know, send out friend invites, and receive a bunch of Facebook LIKES. We put time and effort into posting regularly, yet the page doesn’t grow. What’s up with that?…
Have you ever wondered why some things you read move you beyond words and others fall flat? Both are well written. Both use great descriptive detail. Both show instead of telling. Both are structured well. And yet…there is a difference. Let me explain. Books and articles are more than just letters on a page. This…
I’ve heard publishing professionals say that when they want to know if a prospective fiction client can write, they flip through the manuscript in search of the first section of dialog to see if the author has mastered the art. Dialog is that important. So today I’m going to give you my top ten tips…
All stories have a beginning. A good one sets the tone of the story to come. It attracts the reader to a protagonist who’s flawed, faces impossible obstacles, yet somehow triumphs in the end. At least that’s the gist of my favorite stories. True, there’s lots more to come, but a great start helps me…
Thousands upon thousands of people are interested in writing–everything from books to blogs to memoirs to articles. You name it, tons of people have thought about writing it. And you’ve probably heard all the statistics–how hard it is to get published. But maybe you haven’t heard the other part to that statement–because here it is…the…
