Specialists

You know you need characters and plot, But wait, there's more! Pacing, flow, dialogue, grammar, style, voice, story, page design, poetry, etc. All the things.

Plotting and Writing Suspense Fiction, Patricia Highsmith

Have you ever seen the movies, Strangers on a Train, or, The Talented Mr. Ripley? They were written by Patricia Highsmith, who wrote over 20 novels, and wrote a helpful little book called, Plotting and Writing Suspense Fiction. Note: All fiction should employ some tension, and I think that is how you should regard the … Continue reading Plotting and Writing Suspense Fiction, Patricia Highsmith

The Emotional Craft of Fiction, Donald Maass

The Emotional Craft of Fiction, How to Write the Story Beneath the Surface, by Donald Maass “Engage Your Readers with Emotion. While writers might disagree over showing versus telling or plotting versus pantsing, none would argue this: If you want to write strong fiction, you must make your readers feel. The reader's experience must be an emotional … Continue reading The Emotional Craft of Fiction, Donald Maass

The Elements of Style Illustrated, Strunk+White, Kalman

                I'm sure you recognize the name E.B White, the author of Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little. When he was a student at Cornell, he partnered with a teacher ( William Strunk Jr.) to revise the classic, iconic, beloved style manual, The Elements of Style. Everyone looooooves it, … Continue reading The Elements of Style Illustrated, Strunk+White, Kalman

Plot / Story / Structure

Plot, story, and structure are all related, but may be studied independently. Hover over "Plot / Story / Structure" in the menu bar to see book review options

Grammar / Style

Don't worry too much about this during your first few drafts, But begin to consider how indentations work, ways to use quotation marks , or when a semicolon is just right. How to you plural-ize a name ending in 's' ? What is an Em-dash? How does it differ from a parenthesis? Yeah, that sort … Continue reading Grammar / Style

Should you go to college for a Creative Degree?

I’m not saying, don’t go to college for writing. I’m not saying it was a bad idea, especially if you’ve already done so. It was once almost mandatory, and then drifted into a perfectly reasonable thing to do. I am saying, now and for the foreseeable future, it’ s just not a value proposition. This, … Continue reading Should you go to college for a Creative Degree?