Essential Guide to Writing a Novel

Here's a list of the most important techniques we should think about when plotting and writing our novel or short story.  Also, more on making our settings work for our story.  And, how we can show rather than tell about love.The Write NoteExploring the craft of writing and its impact on pop culture.Listen on:   SpotifySupport the show

Did soon-to-be famous writers know as they drafted their novels that they were creating magic for readers?   Maybe.   Maybe not.   And how can we choose the strong word instead the the weak, so that our sentence shines?  Also, here are thoughts on how long our chapters should be, and how to make sure they are not too long and not too short.The Write NoteExploring the craft of writing and its impact on pop culture.Listen on:   SpotifySupport the show

Young adult fiction is a vast market, and many wonderful writers create YA novels.  Here are some thoughts on YA, some techniques we might keep in mind as we put together a story meant for teenagers.  Also, what is the balance between not enough detail and too much detail in our scenes?   I'll set out a formula.The Write NoteExploring the craft of writing and its impact on pop culture.Listen on:   SpotifySupport the show

A distinctive voice can add a charming or compelling aspect to a story.  What is voice?  And do we need a distinctive voice?  Maybe not, maybe so.  Here are thoughts about a voice for our stories.  Also mentioned are ideas and techniques regarding flashbacks.The Write NoteExploring the craft of writing and its impact on pop culture.Listen on:   SpotifySupport the show

Learn how to create impactful sentences in fiction writing using eleven techniques to make your writing clear and forceful. Explore the importance of active voice, strong verbs, and vivid descriptions. Discover how to craft a story arc and engage readers with alternate realities in your novel.

Learn how to write a novel synopsis and the importance of it in marketing and pitching. Find out about artificial intelligence writing fiction. Explore techniques for eliminating filters in writing to create a more engaging narrative.

New writers tend to put too much summary into their stories.  I'll talk about how to avoid that mistake, making sure that most of our novels are scenes.   Why is this so important?   Scenes are much more engaging for the reader than are summaries.   Also, here's how to show--rather than tell--about our characters' aches and pains.   And here's a list of the twelve best novels of all time.The Write NoteExploring the craft of writing and its impact on pop culture.Listen on:   SpotifySupport the show

A great pleasure in our fiction reading is coming across a dastardly villain, someone so bad and so well-described we will never forget him or her.  Hannibal Lecter.  Nurse Ratched.  Huckleberry Finn's father Pap.   How can writers create such a villain?  Here are techniques, in particular regarding the physical description of the villain.   Also discussed is how we can get unstuck in our plotting or writing.The Write NoteExploring the craft of writing and its impact on pop culture.Listen on:   SpotifySupport the show

Here are two errors we might make when describing our setting.  First, using a dull setting.  And, second, making the setting inert, that is, not having the setting contribute to the story.   Here are techniques to avoid both mistakes.  Plus, we'll look at how other novelists get to work each day, how they manage to sit themselves down and start writing.The Write NoteExploring the craft of writing and its impact on pop culture.Listen on:   SpotifySupport the show

Once we have completed our novel, it may be time to obtain the services of a literary agent.  Here are thoughts on how to find good ones, and how to write a query asking them to look at your manuscript The Write NoteExploring the craft of writing and its impact on pop culture.Listen on:   SpotifySupport the show