tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-173612992011-12-14T20:38:45.367-06:00Writing tips for both fiction and nonfiction.Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.comBlogger1221100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-90762151727556996862008-04-19T18:19:00.010-05:002008-04-20T10:47:01.763-05:00

The publishing industry is hard to figure out.For one thing, the sheer number of books published in the United States is outrageous. The last I heard it was in the neighborhood of 65,000 annually.Good business practice? No! These publishers are competing with themselves, often publishing dozens of titles on the same hot topic. Would any other industry do such a thing?Why does publishing do it?It

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-10705675259106086302008-04-15T11:06:00.002-05:002008-04-15T11:11:18.596-05:00

Stating a bold, surprising conclusion at the top can lend resonance to what follows. In poetry we see an exquisite example of this in T.S. Eliot's opening to "The Wasteland." April is the cruelest month, breedingLilacs out of the dead land, mixingMemory and desire, stirringDull roots with spring rain.Then there's Dickens' memorable and ever-timely opening to A Tale of Two Cities, which he

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-82197673976012166292008-04-11T12:18:00.002-05:002008-04-11T12:56:01.216-05:00

Why do you want to be a writer?The question itself is revealing. Is that what you want? "To be a writer"?To BE a writer. To BE something. Not to DO something?I don't think there is any field with such a vast majority of simple "wanna-bees." Writing attracts people with this desire because it is a way to get attention.They view writing as some sort of public address system, a way to be heard.

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-48860332684608091582008-04-06T18:53:00.004-05:002008-04-06T19:06:50.370-05:00

Via Bertram's Blog:To use the power of three in articles: Set up your premise, prove it, conclude it.To use the power of three in a mystery: Give one clue to tantalize; two to suggest a direction of discovery; three to create a pattern.To use the power of three in a story: Create tension, develop it, release it.To use the power of three in description: Mention three attributes.To use the power of

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-53711665292418107932008-04-03T22:38:00.002-05:002008-04-03T22:41:42.892-05:00

Time is running out to save on any edition of To Write That Novel (paperback, PDF, or on CD-ROM) or Gotta Write? during the March Madness Sale, which ends on Monday.

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-60765205446674904452008-03-29T12:58:00.001-05:002008-03-29T13:05:09.149-05:00

We have just seen how a resonant title lends resonance to a story (e.g., Death in the Afternoon). Resonant chapter titles do likewise. Alternatively, some authors name the parts of a novel with resonant titles. Such titles often use metaphors or play on a familiar opposite. For example, the title "Nothing Comes to Those Who Wait" plays on the familiar opposite saying All things come to those

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-21304287230374555512008-03-23T09:22:00.002-05:002008-03-23T09:31:58.675-05:00

Invoking death resonates because it foreshadows. You can invoke the specter of death with imagery, a metaphor, an omen, or a premonition. If the story ends with the death of your main character, invoking death at the outset really resonates.Shakespeare invoked death in Juliet's first words about Romeo after meeting him:Go ask his name. If he be married,My grave is like to be my wedding bed.

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-67549058956778836452008-03-18T02:38:00.008-05:002008-03-18T04:37:03.627-05:00

Via Curiosities at The Millions:Richard Russo: "My fictional Eliot [Spitzer] would be complex, would contain paradoxes. He would not be a hypocrite. My Eliot would believe with his whole heart in his crusades against the corrupt and the powerful and the privileged, even as he worked studiously to undermine his legacy. Fiction can accommodate such paradoxes, provided they're explained."I'm sorry,

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-82039176360218075592008-03-17T18:10:00.003-05:002008-03-17T18:14:46.654-05:00

The imprimatur of an authority figure lends words credibility via resonance. As a novelist you can take advantage of this fact for greater authenticity. For, in a novel credibility is that all-important commodity known as suspension of disbelief. You can make a character seem authentic by anointing him with the resonance of authority. Just have him expound on the ideas of an anointed authority

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-17860728438455542302008-03-13T00:06:00.001-05:002008-03-13T02:09:51.067-05:00

Get a weekly writing prompt of three words every Wednesday at Three Word Wednesday.This week's prompt is: Apartment, Began, NumbSee an example of how to play at Write from Karen: The Doctor is Human After All.Suggestions:My eyes quickly skipped over the gloves and landed on the waste basket tucked into a hole under the counter top, the huge red triangle stating it was for hazardous materials only

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-72640900232257090242008-03-12T16:36:00.002-05:002008-03-13T09:24:06.732-05:00

There are many ways to use references to religion for resonance. Poetry and literature often gain it through epigraphs. They also often gain it through Biblical allusions or through allusions to other famous words. Graham Greene's The Power and the Glory and Evan Hunter's Vespers both derive resonance from the religious reference in their titles. Actions like murder that take place at the same

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-5886925916923385932008-02-28T12:10:00.004-06:002008-02-28T13:06:04.004-06:00

I cannot pass this up!Norm Geras writes in Tradition, tradition:Suppose you set out deliberately to write a column which would be so obviously laughable a decade or three on that it already is laughable, to put together a sad rant about how everything is going to the dogs, you couldn't do much better than the piece I've just read by David Gelernter. It's an 'end of civilization as we know it'

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-47445291224563020672008-02-21T21:06:00.005-06:002008-02-21T21:16:21.249-06:00

You get a little of this and little of that in the Weblog of Norman Geras, including his Writer's Choice series. Here is an excellent piece by Angela Young:I was given a proof copy of Maggie O'Farrell's first novel, After You'd Gone, in 1999. I can't remember why, now. It wasn't for review because I'm not a professional reviewer, and I didn't read it until 2002, at least two years after its

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-8068223371412953032008-02-19T18:32:00.000-06:002008-03-13T09:24:06.732-05:00

Nobody forgets the first words of Herman Melville's Moby Dick: "Call me Ishmael," because of the Biblical reverberations of that name.You can also achieve resonance through the name of a famous person or historical figure who makes a cameo appearance in the story as a character. Jack Higgins has done this in his novels with great success.

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-16543429166309536342008-02-06T19:00:00.000-06:002008-03-13T09:24:06.733-05:00

There are many ways to make writing resonate. They all often employ a simile or metaphor.Here are some ways to make action resonate: Invoke images of some past event that occurred in the same place.Jump-cut between scenes happening simultaneously.Zoom out or in to make an image resonate like the first photos of Earth from outer space did.Those are ideal ways to make writing resonate, because they

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-47479684748655477562008-01-20T12:06:00.001-06:002008-03-13T09:24:06.734-05:00

To "resonate" literally means to bounce back and forth between two states or places. Resonate comes from the Latin word for "resound." In sound, resonance is a prolonged response to something that caused things to vibrate. When sound reverberates, it's resonating within a bounded space, like the body of a guitar. Thunder often resonates/reverberates across an uneven landscape.Resonance in

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-55884594806058046082008-01-02T21:01:00.000-06:002008-01-02T21:40:01.253-06:00

Continued from The Business of Writing Part 1.Another thing I learned is that developing a line of products makes a big difference. Sales of my tennis strategy guide took off when I added more products and put them in a Pro Shop on the site.I guess that makes sense. Potential customers then see that you are serious. They see experience creating these publications, and this instills greater trust

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-13067133871606836842007-12-31T09:57:00.000-06:002007-12-31T10:09:00.753-06:00

On the stage or screen we witness most of the story, don't we? Occasionally, some action takes place offstage, and we learn of it through hearsay. For example, in Hamlet we don't witness what happens on Hamlet's voyage to England. But we do know that Claudius has arranged for his murder there. So, we see Hamlet reach the coast, thunder his great soliloquy, and embark. Then, back at the ranch….The

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-4141945185795659402007-12-28T10:33:00.000-06:002008-01-02T21:48:34.765-06:00

Some thoughts on the business end of writing. But first a disclaimer: If you are getting business advice from me, you are in trouble!That said, here are a few things I learned and noticed. Note that, in college, I was one of those "helper types" (studying to be a teacher) who would have felt it beneath me to stoop to a mercenary course of study by taking any business classes. So, what I do know,

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-19325002545728096612007-12-23T10:18:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:26:04.468-06:00

Via Bertram's Blog:It wasn’t bad, merely boring; it read like a synopsis rather than a fleshed out novel.Like a synopsis, eh? In other words, no immediate scene. I have finally given way to the belief that many would-be novelists just don't know what immediate scene is! They're faking it when they pretend they know what you're talking about.Nonetheless, you'd think they'd notice the glaring

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-13282831205220692032007-12-21T21:19:00.000-06:002007-12-22T04:24:57.330-06:00

I recently revisited one of the many writers' fora on the Net and was immediately reminded of why I quit doing so. I suppose there are some good ones out there, but I haven't run across any.In this case, right at the top I found the one billionth example of good advice going in one ear and out the other. The obtuseness of 99.9% of these people is amazing! It all bounces off their foreheads.How

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-45253721822299128832007-12-11T11:09:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:47:43.186-06:00

Though you ordinarily want reader intimacy, sometimes it's best to keep the reader at arm's length — either from the story or from a character (even perhaps the protagonist) or both.For example, especially in the opening of a novel, you don't want to the reader to feel accosted by something off-putting that is too close for comfort. He hasn't been hooked yet and may put the book down. So, if the

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-16972127889630601752007-11-28T12:09:00.000-06:002007-12-28T12:02:28.239-06:00

We process words as language in the frontal lobe of the brain. We do it the way a computer processes computer language. As we mature, we become increasingly able to process words another way too, as raw stimuli. This happens as we accumulate a vast store of experiences in memory farther back. They are networked words, images, sounds, and so forth — a relational database.We use this farther-back

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-43550018969598341912007-10-29T00:14:00.000-05:002007-12-28T11:32:24.930-06:00

Let's say that you're an entrepreneur who speaks English as a second language and needs to write published articles or technical documentation in English for an international audience.You haven't time to waste, so here we go.First you must decide whether to use British English or American English. Until recently, British English was the international standard. However, today American English is

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-76377079812521162332007-10-23T04:48:00.000-05:002007-12-28T11:40:19.854-06:00

Remember that variety is the spice of life. By location hopping you enhance reader interest and enjoyment by moving around to different and unexpected locations. Vary the story's settings as much as possible. When planning your novel, think up eight or ten locations for the scenes. Unless your story must be set in a particular locale, the whole world is your playground.Location hopping also

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-51062267571057967552007-09-23T21:27:00.000-05:002007-12-28T11:52:32.947-06:00

Art is a medium of communication. Every art form is a language. Each language has its possibilities and limitations.Novelists work with words. In some ways this art form is least limited in the type of information it can convey. For example, though the visual arts (like photography, sculpture, and painting) give us access to the subject's inner person, only words can take you right into her head.

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-91310432902997742232007-09-20T15:42:00.000-05:002007-09-20T17:07:17.020-05:00

Has some small print publication flattered you by asking you to be an editor? Well, when you see the pay, you see why.Even editors who know what they’re doing get their behinds chewed by authors. Editors who don’t know what they’re doing have a short life expectancy.Wanna be an editor? Then learn the trade.No, straight A’s through four years of an Ivy League major in English doesn’t qualify you.

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-4090755410773521852007-09-02T12:19:00.000-05:002007-12-28T11:26:04.469-06:00

Though a novel is a commercial product, like a drug or the performance of a stage play, it provides a service. So, the writer should think of novel writing as a performing art and a service industry. The key to success in any service business is a keen sense of what the customer wants. What he really wants — which isn't necessarily what he says he wants. For example, a tennis pro knows that

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-89101121777939270252007-07-07T13:53:00.000-05:002007-12-28T11:47:43.187-06:00

Fictional characters aren't exactly like real people. For one thing, they are simpler than real people. This is largely because when we look at a real person, we seldom see her "being herself." Instead we see the image of herself that she projects. But when we look at a fictional character, we usually see her true self. We get into her head. Also, our view of a real person is almost always

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1160550228222444242006-10-11T01:48:00.000-05:002008-02-28T12:26:09.437-06:00

Using the Singular They, Them and TheirThese are payments made to an employee because of physical or mental incapacity that renders them unable to fulfill their duties. Nobody got their paycheck yesterday. Everybody loves their dog. If a client calls, tell them I'll be back at nine o'clock. When anybody does that to us, we feel like asking them who they think they are. Nobody in their right mind

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1159840681611856612006-10-02T20:40:00.000-05:002008-02-28T12:26:09.438-06:00

If English is your second language, be careful with the singular they. The rules can be confusing. But if you're a native speaker of English, you should have no problem if you just proofread like you ought. For, you've been using the singular they in speech all your life. Therefore, you don't need to remember the rules, because they're instinctual to you by now.Nonetheless, here are the rules ;-)

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1159220541228592682006-09-25T16:32:00.000-05:002008-02-28T12:26:09.439-06:00

You often have yet another option for eliminating he, him, and his: replace them with they, them, or their.But, you say, that's a grammatical error: they and its derivatives are plural!Not always. Notice that in everyday speech we often use they and its derivatives in the singular. English-speaking people have been doing this since the thirteenth century when he came to mean "male." Writers since

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1157750978566658212006-09-08T16:21:00.000-05:002008-02-28T12:26:09.440-06:00

Often, eliminating his is harder than eliminating he or him, especially if you have a he, him, and his in the same sentence. Yet, you have six ways to eliminate his.To avoid using "his":Cut the word his.Use an article (a, an, or the) instead. Switch to the plural.Switch to the second person (using you).Write in the passive voice.Substitute "his or her" for "his."Follow examples. In the first two,

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1157064569734117072006-08-31T17:42:00.000-05:002008-02-28T12:26:09.441-06:00

In the last example of the previous post, notice that I wrote "she or he" instead of "he or she." Using these expressions interchangeably is good, because it avoids the subliminal suggestion in always putting he first. But it has a drawback: we're so used to reading he or she that she or he seems unidiomatic and calls attention to the writing. But only the first time and only for the second it

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1156733350672051282006-08-27T21:40:00.000-05:002008-02-28T12:26:09.442-06:00

The problem is English's third-person-singular personal pronouns: there's no gender-neutral one, except it.Other languages, like French, have this problem too. But in them nouns (i.e., the names of persons, places, and things) still have gender, too (inherited from Latin). So, gender hasn't such strong sexual connotations in these other languages as it does in English, where only pronouns

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1156010429732401452006-08-19T12:31:00.000-05:002008-02-28T12:26:09.443-06:00

This turns into an even hotter topic than whether American English is legitimate or not. So, let me start off this series on how to avoid gender-specific language with the justification for avoiding it.The bottom line is that you must use gender-neutral language to get published. Nonetheless, a decent respect for the opinions of all requires more of a reason than expediency.So, let me mention at

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1155008290499230582006-08-07T22:34:00.000-05:002007-12-28T11:32:24.932-06:00

In his Elements of Style, William Strunk wrote, "Make definite assertions. Avoid tame, colorless, hesitating, noncommittal language. Use the word not as a means of denial or in antithesis, never as a means of evasion."For example:Instead of John was not very often on time, write John usually came late.Instead of Lisa did not think that was a very nice thing to say, write Lisa thought that a mean

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1154553483883819932006-08-02T16:12:00.000-05:002007-12-28T11:32:24.932-06:00

When a copyeditor edits a new author's work, she checks for many things, but most of her edits flag multiple instances of the same few stylistic errors. The result can take the wind out of your sails, because you get your work back with something flagged in every other sentence.It isn't that bad though: it's just that you weren't taught to write the way you must write for publication. You have no

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1153940991712992942006-07-26T14:08:00.000-05:002007-12-28T11:26:04.469-06:00

Fiction begins with a crisis, from which future action grows. The worst mistake you can make is also the most common mistake writers make — failing to immediately plunge a sympathetic character into a crisis. Ordinarily, this will be the hero. In any case, the hero's crisis can't be solely somebody else's problem: it must affect, and be affected by, the main character. But what about

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1152862712752958752006-07-14T02:31:00.000-05:002007-12-28T11:42:28.021-06:00

It's human nature to avoid conflict. Certain characters (ordinarily bad guys) may seek conflict as a tactic for aggression, but most of your characters won't. In fact, even when confronted with conflict by a bad guy, it's often in your character's best interest to turn his back on the conflict and walk away. If the reader asks herself why your character doesn't just walk away, you're in trouble.

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1151968728445708822006-07-03T18:15:00.000-05:002007-12-28T11:42:28.021-06:00

To create conflict in dialog, Sol Stein recommends the Actors' Studio method for developing drama: Two actors get brief instructions on what a scene is about and what they want — except that these instructions don't match. Then they are told to ad lib, and the fun begins. Conflictual, dramatic dialog results.For example, one actor is told that he portrays the principal of a private school that

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1150940617368728262006-06-21T20:39:00.000-05:002007-12-28T11:26:04.470-06:00

The Story Situation (Opening Story Situation) is the event or circumstances that start a story. In dramatic fiction, the situation usually brings about some self-concept threatening change for the main character.Examples of story situations: A woman marries a man who was in love with her dead sister. A woman marries a wealthy man and becomes the stepmother of a girl nearly her own age. An old

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1149128978916596022006-05-31T21:23:00.000-05:002007-12-28T12:02:28.240-06:00

Theoretically, mysteries needn't center on crime, but most pure mysteries do.In fact they typically center on the crime of murder, because it's the perfect crime for this type of story. For one thing, since dead men tell no tales, murder is inherently mysterious. It's also simple and economical. All you need is a dead body, no other action and explanations to distract from real story. Moreover,

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1148339314550622202006-05-22T17:41:00.000-05:002006-11-11T13:29:43.951-06:00

There's a misconception that would-be writers should rid themselves of. It's that the reading level of the average American is very low.While there has been some truth this among younger people since the 1990's, too much has been attributed to it. Moreover, the No Child Left Behind Act has already brought first-through-fourth graders up to par with European students of the same age. Now, as the

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1147902069871367412006-05-17T16:25:00.000-05:002007-12-28T11:42:28.021-06:00

In the five previous posts, we've been walking through Act III, scene i of Hamlet, in which conflict between Hamlet and Ophelia mounts. Remember the mood Hamlet was in at the begining of this scene. Remember also that he was debating with himself whether to force the core conflict with Claudius to it's crisis.Now look at what this meeting with Ophelia has done. Hamlet knows she's been put up to

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1147470134235620942006-05-12T15:59:00.000-05:002007-12-28T11:42:28.022-06:00

In Act III, scene 1, we left off at the point Hamlet finds that he can make Ophelia think whatever he wants, that she is a mental whore, so to speak, who has no mind of her own.Then whose mind is behind her suddenly changing her policy and deciding to speak with him today? Thus, Hamlet realizes this encounter with Ophelia is a setup -- an attempt to get him to say something "treasonous" and that

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1146891571598312382006-05-05T23:43:00.000-05:002007-12-28T11:42:28.022-06:00

Starting at line 103 (Act III, Scene 1) we continue with this encounter between Hamlet and Ophelia. Now he's angry.Speaking in prose from now on (instead of verse), Hamlet gives Ophelia a sarcastic dose of her own medicine, playing words. She didn't understand "Are you honest?" so he puts the question another way.Hamlet: Are you fair?Ophelia: What means your lordship?Ouch. She most certainly is!

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1146890553389960642006-05-03T23:31:00.000-05:002007-12-28T11:42:28.022-06:00

Hamlet: Ha, ha! Are you honest?You can almost see his head spinning. He's probably pinching himself. Shakespeare again shows his great knowledge of human behavior. Rational people are stunned and perplexed by perverted reactions to things. They strike us as seeing an apple fall UP from a tree would strike us. These are the moments (in encounters with the twisted) when we can't believe our eyes

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1146543636506369112006-05-01T23:05:00.000-05:002007-12-28T11:42:28.022-06:00

Continuing where we left off...Hamlet: Nymph, in thy orisonsBe all my sins rememb'red.Ophelia: Good my lord,How does your honour for this many a day?...in Act III, scene 1, around line 88.Hamlet: I humbly thank you; well, well, well.Hamlet starts giving the natural reply (Thank you) to what Ophelia should have said. But, by the middle of the line, he sees that she hasn't honored his request to

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1145935779374748932006-04-24T21:52:00.000-05:002007-12-28T11:42:28.023-06:00

Great dramatic writing often builds into volcanic conflict through subtle conflict, because it can be the most powerful.For example, at the end of Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House, Nora subtly responds to attacks on her worth with the conflict of stiffening resistance or restrained counterattacks. But her husband keeps abusing her as though she were an object without feelings and doesn't see what's

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1145683580432905292006-04-22T00:24:00.000-05:002007-12-28T11:26:04.471-06:00

You cannot create a plot without a general idea of the characters who will perform the actions that move it. And you cannot create a character without a general idea of what will happen to him. So, you start with a premise that establishes the rudiments of both.Where to go from there? When we view the question from the writer's standpoint, we see that the actions must fit the character and vice

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1145285019914808692006-04-17T09:22:00.000-05:002007-12-28T11:40:19.854-06:00

Foreshadow by using the "Had-I-but-known" device to draw the reader through an otherwise dull scene, the significance of which will be apparent later. Use the author's voice or a character's voice, or show by the character's actions that he is unaware of the significance of a choice or event. You can even use this device to foreshadow surprise.Had Leroy known who the man was, he would have known

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1144524451391889692006-04-08T14:23:00.000-05:002007-12-28T11:40:19.854-06:00

You can foreshadow what a character might do under great stress by showing what he does under everyday stress. Say, for example, he kills a cat or dog that irritates him. Or perhaps he flies into a road rage at some other driver who "cuts him off." You can use characters to foreshadow the actions of other characters. For example, a minor character might warn your protagonist about a major

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1143600533548971232006-03-28T20:38:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:40:19.854-06:00

To create Type 2 Suspense (anxiety), foreshadow by hinting but holding out. Here is an example of foreshadowing from The Bourne Supremacy by Robert Ludlum. It takes place on a street in Kowloon, China and involves a heshang monk and his servant:The sign came — two abrupt nods — as the priest turned and walked through the beaded entrance of a raucous cabaret. The Zhongguo ren remained outside, his

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1143227748609368542006-03-24T13:06:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:40:19.854-06:00

There never was a night without a twilight; a morning without a dawn; a winter without an autumn; a summer without a spring first; they all foreshadow a coming event.Lajos Egri, in his 1950's classic, The Art of Dramatic Writing.Egri considered foreshadowing a type of conflict — foreshadowing conflict. Indeed, foreshadowing has the force of conflict, because it promises conflict.He didn't

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1142894639541613862006-03-20T16:39:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:47:43.187-06:00

Though you ordinarily want reader intimacy, sometimes it's best to keep the reader at arm's length — either from the story or from a character (even perhaps the protagonist) or both.For example, especially in the opening of a novel, you don't want to the reader to feel accosted by something off-putting that is too close for comfort. He hasn't been hooked yet and may put the book down. So, if the

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1134516108514088502006-03-15T11:05:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:47:43.187-06:00

Inner conflict is essential for two reasons. First, without it you have melodrama. Second, without it your character doesn't evoke the necessary emotional response from the reader.For example, without inner conflict, you have something like a fairy tale or Godzilla. There's no inner conflict in deciding what to do about Godzilla. Your characters aren't deeply involved, so how can the reader be?

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1133014380306351052006-03-07T08:07:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:58:47.471-06:00

Every story has a story idea that poses a question or problem in the beginning, which is answered or solved in the end. You read the story to pursue that answer or solution.Most stories hook you with a question or problem that is bait to arouse curiosity and emotional interest. So, you read simply to find out what happens.But in some stories the question or problem is an enigma. An enigma isn't

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1129835759333401242006-03-01T09:24:00.000-06:002007-12-28T12:02:28.240-06:00

Or Australian English, for that matter. (Canadian English is American English.)Generally, write in your language. Ultimately, it's up to the publisher. For an international audience the standard is American English for obvious reasons. In international business documents, software documentation, and Internet publication, American English is usually preferred.But this standard isn't closely

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1141102743217071572006-02-27T22:53:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:58:47.471-06:00

Novels currently take one of three main forms:Narrative: a story told by a narrator, or storyteller. Stream of Consciousness: immersion in the ruminations of a character's wandering mind. An example of a stream-of-consciousness novel is Franz Kafka's The Trial. Documentary: somebody's story told indirectly through documentation. Document novels tell the story through letters, a journal, a diary,

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1131147742738276152006-02-24T17:38:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:26:04.473-06:00

The story questions a novel poses make readers follow the plot of a story like bloodhounds follow a scent. They want the answers to those questions, and they get impatient with distractions. Consequently, they quickly lose interest in anything that doesn't contribute to proving the story's premise.Your premise, then, is a tool to keep you in control of the story and your reader engaged.What a

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1140542971579415442006-02-21T11:12:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:47:43.188-06:00

To create conflict, you need three things: a main character, a goal for her or him, and opposition.In carving out the characters of your protagonist and antagonist, connect each one's deepest desire to his fundamental difference from the other.Shakespeare gives us an elegant example of this in Hamlet and his foil, Laertes. Hamlet is a man of honor — bona fide honor. Laertes is a man of seeming —

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1128310180227832722006-02-17T22:25:00.000-06:002007-12-28T12:02:28.240-06:00

Publishing is a trade, and writing is a commercial product. It's a business. A service industry. People buy fiction to get an enjoyable experience in fantasy. Not to be guided, edified, informed, educated, changed, shamed, preached at, or persuaded of anything. Many writers fail because they view writing as a way to get attention. They have a burning desire to express themselves and think

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1139935042216382632006-02-14T10:28:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:54:18.171-06:00

The afficiandos of literary fiction often look down their noses at the tease opening, preferring the classical opening that presents story questions about the core conflict. But don't let their PC tastes rule you. Here's a example of a fabulous tease opening by the Master himself. How about a play that opens this way . . .At midnight a sentinel slowly paces before his castle post, looking all

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1132076188946006182006-02-10T11:00:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:58:47.472-06:00

All four elements of a story (milieu, idea, character, and events) are in all stories. They aren't all equally important in all stories, however. Depending on what the story is about, the relative amounts of each element should vary. That is, a story contains four types of information: information about the milieu, about the idea, about the characters, and about events.To the extent that a story

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1139266795202558442006-02-06T16:57:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:52:32.948-06:00

The Lit Fuse device is common in melodrama and comedy.The very old "Perils of Pauline" movies are a melodramatic example. The villain, Snidely Whiplash, demands, "You must marry me!""No! No! I won't marry you!" she cries."But you must marry me!""No! No! I won't marry you!""But you must marry me!""No! No! I won't marry you!"If he can't have her, nobody can. So Snidely ties her to the railroad

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1138910552490869842006-02-02T14:00:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:52:32.949-06:00

"Lighting the fuse" is a powerful literary device for creating negative Type 2 Suspense — putting the reader in a state of anxiety or apprehension.The classic example is that a time-bomb is about to go off and the hero must defuse it in time. But you can light the fuse by putting a sympathetic character in any situation with something terrible about to happen (usually at an appointed time) that

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1128545648070431202006-02-01T15:31:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:32:24.932-06:00

Weak verbs are actionless verbs, vague verbs, and verbs in the passive voice. We have already discussed the passive voice, so let's focus on actionless verbs and vague verbs.Actionless verbs include static verbs, like exist and the various forms of the verb to be. Other actionless verbs include English's infamous cargo of "helping" or "auxiliary" verbs. (See below.) I call them "little verbs."

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1138477133014834162006-01-28T13:36:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:54:18.171-06:00

Steven Spielberg teases us in the openings of the Indiana Jones movies. Each movie opens with the end of some previous adventure. Thus the audience is immediately plunged into exciting action that poses intriguing story questions of great urgency. Will Indy get run over by that huge boulder? Will he reach the antidote in time? Will that rhinoceros neuter him? Spielberg definitely has our

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1138038159763217182006-01-23T11:38:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:54:18.172-06:00

Hooks hook whether they relate to the core conflict or not. So, in mainstream fiction today the emphasis is on irresistible bait rather than on rigid classical form. Such hooks are short-range story questions called teases. Teases are attention-grabbing devices to arouse curiosity with catchy story questions. To pose them the story opens with some exciting action or dialog and plunges the reader

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1137948502660795442006-01-22T10:43:00.000-06:002006-11-11T13:29:20.525-06:00

Sorry for the unannounced hiatus from posting. I have been really down with the flue this past week. You can normally expect two or three tips per week.See my article entitled Writing to the Imagination in the current issue (#31) of Vision: A Resource for Writers. And a great bimonthly resource it is, with many great articles on writing.

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1137181114906774622006-01-13T13:31:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:54:18.172-06:00

In a first-person novel, the narrator is a character. Just plain curiosity about the narrator can serve as another hook. Mark Twain arouses this curiosity masterfully in the opening of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.You don't know about me without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; but that ain't no matter.And that brilliant stroke of reverse psychology makes us

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1136654295888440342006-01-07T11:09:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:54:18.172-06:00

Here is another example of the classic hook via long-range story questions about the core conflict — the opening of To Kill a Mockingbird (1960), literary fiction by Harper Lee.When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow. When it healed, and Jem's fears of never being able to play football were assuaged, he was seldom self-conscious about his injury. His left

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1136432433322177632006-01-04T21:20:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:54:18.172-06:00

The hardest part of a novel is the opening. Your opening story questions must hook the reader. You must decide whether to pose long-range story questions about the core conflict or catchy short-range story questions about exciting action or dialog in the opening scene. Which can hardly be about the core conflict, because you haven't set up the core conflict yet.Here's an example of the classic,

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1136241601800251872006-01-02T16:38:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:40:19.856-06:00

The most common problem with novels good enough to consider for publication is that they sag in the middle. The story loses momentum, suspense flags, and the reader is no longer curious about what will happen next.You can fix this problem and improve almost any first or second draft by cutting the weakest scene. Just find the scene where your own interest flags, and eliminate it. If possible,

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1135786968509188462005-12-28T10:19:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:42:28.023-06:00

It's human nature to avoid conflict. Certain characters (ordinarily bad guys) may seek conflict as a tactic for aggression, but most of your characters won't. In fact, even when confronted with conflict by a bad guy, it's often in your character's best interest to turn his back on the conflict and walk away. If the reader asks herself why your character doesn't just walk away, you're in trouble.

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1135711657668060942005-12-27T13:24:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:42:28.024-06:00

A simple device for keeping your characters locked in conflict is the Closed Environment. No bond/relationship is necessary to keep the characters in it. It's simply a situation with little or no connection to the outside world.What goes on in the closed environment is hidden from the outside world. Characters within the closed environment cannot readily receive help or escape. So, a closed

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1135476721584569802005-12-24T20:08:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:42:28.024-06:00

Lajos Egri, in his classic, The Art of Dramatic Writing, calls conflict the "origin of action" and "that titanic atomic energy whereby one explosion creates a chain of explosions." But perhaps James M. Frey puts it best in How to Write a Damn Good Novel. He says that story is struggle and that conflict is the "gunpowder" of storytelling.Conflict and struggle go hand-in-glove with each other. No

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1135200584829361562005-12-21T15:29:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:32:24.932-06:00

Wordiness creeps into every writer's work. Here are just a few examples of common wordy phrases and their potential concise alternatives.Wordy Phrase >>> Potential Alternative(s)is able to >>> candue to the fact that >>> becausein an effort to >>> toin order to >>> toin regard to >>> about or onin the course of >>> during or inin the near future >>> soonin view of >>> sincein view of the above >>

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1135024106810158422005-12-19T14:25:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:52:32.950-06:00

Though a novel is a commercial product, like a drug or the performance of a stage play, it provides a service. So, the writer should think of novel writing as a performing art and a service industry. The key to success in any service business is a keen sense of what the customer wants. What he really wants — which isn't necessarily what he says he wants. For example, a tennis pro knows that his

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1134842357626312502005-12-17T11:53:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:42:28.025-06:00

As I tell tennis players, the best way to pressure people is to confront them with choices. That's because they fear making the "wrong" one.If a person's fear of making decisions is greater than his desire, that fear extinguishes desire.Have you ever known a person who cannot make a decision? I knew a woman once who couldn't even decide how she wanted her coffee. I kid you not: before ordering it

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1134666100139412102005-12-15T10:56:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:54:18.173-06:00

The opening scene you tease the reader with must be relevant. If your opening hooks potential readers, they buy the book. So, they hate the old Bait-and-Switch trick, which makes readers feel cheated. It can really hurt sales of future works.In Technique in Fiction, Lanning and Macauley say that... a writer has to discriminate wisely between the attention-getting device that soon becomes fairly

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1134166008524141622005-12-13T17:14:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:42:28.025-06:00

Inner conflict is the most powerful conflict, and it's the key to creating memorable characters.Inner conflict is opposition from an antagonist within, in the form of doubts, misgivings, guilt, remorse, or indecision. Since a character's wants won't interest a reader unless the reader views them as important, inner conflict is usually moral conflict with the character's self-worth (self-concept)

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1134166477961231422005-12-10T19:20:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:26:04.477-06:00

When you begin reading a novel, you begin a journey, not a bout of wandering. Opening story questions about the core conflict are like road signs that tell you whether you're headed toward Topeka or Timbuktu. Would you follow anybody on a journey if he didn't tell you where it lead? Of course not, because you know there are only bad reasons for him to withhold that information. At best, he does

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1133563985387660132005-12-09T16:10:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:54:18.173-06:00

The most important story questions are the first ones, the ones you plant in the opening. Story questions posed in the opening are called hooks. Get your hooks in the reader immediately.Why? Remember that prospective readers pick your novel off a shelf in the bookstore and start reading the first page. Make them take it to the cash register.They are as fussy as trout, who have countless offerings

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1133758773106334542005-12-04T22:35:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:40:19.856-06:00

The old movie Thirty Seconds over Tokyo illustrates the power of suspense. Released in 1944, the title hinted that it was about the daring bombing raid the United States conducted less than six months after Pearl Harbor. This, of course, was a historical event that the audience already knew the outcome of. No suspense there.The purpose of this bombing raid was to cheer American morale and to set

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1133564351456760422005-12-02T16:53:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:40:19.856-06:00

There are two types of suspense:Type 1 Suspense: suspense characterized by reader curiosity (i.e., wonder)Type 2 Suspense: suspense characterized by reader anxiety and apprehension (i.e., worry)Type 1 Suspense can be created with a few words any time. No reader involvement is necessary. Type 2 Suspense can be created only if the reader is emotionally involved in the story. The reader is then

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1133290305684719142005-11-29T12:49:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:40:19.857-06:00

Suspense is uncertainty, a state of being undecided or undetermined. So, at bottom, suspense is a question.For example, a person on trial hears the verdict — guilty. Sentencing will be in three days. For the next three days the convicted criminal is left in suspense about what her sentence will be. In other words, the story raises the question What will her sentence be?Therefore, to create

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1133120647686971432005-11-27T13:40:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:42:28.025-06:00

As I tell tennis players, the best way to pressure people is to confront them with choices. That's because they fear making the "wrong" one.If a person's fear of making decisions is greater than his desire, that fear extinguishes desire.Have you ever known a person who cannot make a decision? I knew a woman once who couldn't even decide how she wanted her coffee. I kid you not: before ordering it

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1132965252970439322005-11-25T18:29:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:58:47.473-06:00

In some stories the milieu is sketchy, while in others it is presented in great detail. A milieu story is a story about its milieu.Examples of milieu stories are: Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan SwiftTwenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas by Jules Verne Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through a Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark TwainThe Time

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1132773131363653812005-11-23T13:08:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:32:24.932-06:00

Step 2 in the process of engaging your reader is to organize your writing to meet your reader's needs.People read to get answers. Anticipate the questions your readers bring to the work, and organize your material to respond to those questions. Also think through the questions your readers are likely to ask while reading, and further organize your material to answer each question immediately.When

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1132611008165302002005-11-21T16:05:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:32:24.933-06:00

Reading your words is spending time with you. So, make the persona you project engaging.To engage your readers: Speak to them directly and clearly.Organize your message in a structure that reflects their interests.Use an appropriate tone.And, before you even begin writing, identify your audience. You must grab and hold your readers' attention if you want to get your ideas across. They aren't

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1132341636265336872005-11-18T13:11:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:58:47.476-06:00

Tell me who's fit to be the judge of that, and I'll go ask her or him.The literati describe fiction as either character-driven or plot-driven. They lump Milieu Stories, Idea Stories, and Events Stories into the plot-driven category. They regard plot-driven fiction as inferior, lowbrow, preferred by the uncultivated masses and therefore "transient" because it isn't worthy of a hard cover.The only

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1132155767385092052005-11-16T09:18:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:58:47.476-06:00

To demonstrate something about the MICE Quotient, I'm going to use an an example of a story's opening. Here it is...I had been invalided home from the Front; and, after spending some months in a rather depressing Convalescent Home, was given a month's sick leave. Having no near relations or friends, I was trying to make up my mind what to do, when I ran across John Cavendish. I had seen very

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1132025890443675562005-11-14T21:34:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:26:04.478-06:00

Stories are comprised of four elements. If one predominates, it shapes the story.The elements that comprise a story are: milieuideacharactereventsA story's milieu is its world, the environment of its characters. It encompasses both the material and moral spheres of action. That is, it encompasses both the inner and outer landscapes/spaces surrounding the characters, as well as the surrounding

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1131819507380695232005-11-12T12:10:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:32:24.933-06:00

In his Elements of Style, William Strunk wrote,Make definite assertions. Avoid tame, colorless, hesitating, noncommittal language. Use the word not as a means of denial or in antithesis, never as a means of evasion.Here are examples to show the difference ...John was not very often on time. >>> John usually came late.Lisa did not think that was a very nice thing to say. >>> Lisa thought that a

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1131738170642204482005-11-11T13:42:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:32:24.933-06:00

Writings' readability is its ease of understanding. Under-standing is mental weight lifting and requires effort. As tested, understanding therefore requires two things: the ability to understand and the effort to understand. So, readability is a function of both complexity and the average reader's willingness to make the required effort to understand.Readable writing is considerate of the reader,

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1131645371157149792005-11-10T11:16:00.000-06:002007-12-28T12:02:28.241-06:00

On a forum of technical writers a Brit once corrected me, as though Americans are ignorant and making grammatical errors by using American English, which he arrogantly viewed as somehow "incorrect."Thinking he would surely have to hear himself if I dropped a subtle hint that 400,000,000 people throughout North America say different than instead of different from, it made no dent in his obtuseness

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1131637122730512352005-11-10T08:27:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:32:24.933-06:00

I could give you a mile-long list of wordy phrases to avoid, but that wouldn't be as helpful as giving you some important patterns to watch out for. The left side of the list below shows examples of the main patterns of phrasing that result in wordiness. The right side shows potential alternatives.the question as to whether >>> whether or the question whetherthere is no doubt but that >>> no

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17361299.post-1131578741315598652005-11-09T17:19:00.000-06:002007-12-28T11:32:24.933-06:00

I could have stated this advice as Omit unnecessary words, but that may not say to you exactly what I mean. I could have said Omit superfluous words, but superfluous is a big word and just vague enough to be interpreted as "Leave out any word you can." So I chose to state this guideline exactly as Professor William Strunk Jr. did nearly a century ago in The Elements of Style: Omit needless words:

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159241410692201321noreply@blogger.com0