Author Archive
Picking the Right Tense
What to do with tense? I wrote about this briefly a few months ago, in the context of narrative mode, and I mentioned a few narrative modes and how they were used by their authors. But how do you pick a tense to use?
To review, narrative mode has three components:
Person – First (“I”), second (“you”), [...]
Starting a Novel without a Title (but with a Cover)
I usually start a novel with at least a working title. Not this time. However, I am starting with a working cover design.
This is in preparation for my next novel-writing month, which is February—FebNoWriMo?—part of my New Year’s resolution to publish 4 original books during the next year.
You can see a cover template over at [...]
Agile Storytelling
I generally write a story using a process similar to Randy Ingermanson’s “Snowflake” method, but I don’t think of my process as resembling anything like a snowflake. Randy is a physicist, as I understand, so maybe that explains his choice of metaphor. I, on the other hand, come from the sordid world of software development. [...]
11+ Ways to Say “He Smiled”
One of the banes of writing fiction is trying to find interesting ways to say ordinary things. And smiling is one of those. Everyone smiles. It’s built into our DNA to smile. We smile to show happiness, friendliness, or even to cover up how insecure we feel. And our characters smile, too, a lot.
So how [...]
The Worst Story Ever (the MST3K version)
This past week, Frankie Diane Mallis did something very brave. On a dare, she posted an “absolutely horrid horrid horrid story ‘Untitled’ that I wrote in the 4th grade”… the MST3K version. Seriously, move over Plan 9. “Untitled” is so bad, it’s good. And her quips, taken from thats-not-polite years of experience— she had me [...]
Should You Always Avoid the Verb “To Be”?
A fundamental rule of style is that you should avoid the verb “to be,” preferring instead strong, descriptive verbs that show, rather than tell.
As an example, instead of writing, “The light was bright,” you should prefer, “The light blinded her as a hot-white flame,” or some such. So every time you use am, is, are, [...]
Battling the Post-Revision Blues
I’ve experienced the same thing, as a musician, whenever I give a big musical performance. As you prepare for the big event, you practice, you plan, you’re running on adrenaline. The big night comes. You perform beautifully. The burn of the spotlights, the adulation of the crowd, the feeling of accomplishment. You’re floating on air.
The [...]
Checklist for Revising a Novel
Recently, I joked on my personal blog about how (not) to revise your novel, a trying process involving sweat, tears, and numerous trips to the office supply store. And all just so that you can see, in black and white, how crappy a writer you really are.
But seriously, revising a novel is a lot of [...]
Interview with Julie Carobini, “Beach-Lit” Author
I’m chatting here in my virtual living room today with Julie Carobini, author of what she calls “beach-lit” novels: Chocolate Beach, Truffles by the Sea, and—her latest—Sweet Waters. As always, what I say is in italic type, like this, and what Julie says will be in a plain font.
Hi, Julie. Thanks for doing this interview [...]
Making Sense of Narrative Mode (and Tense)
Sometimes writers talk about what “tense” they’re writing in: third-person past, first-person present, or whatever. This is actually called “narrative mode,” not just tense. The tense is the past, present, or future part of the narrative mode. And the narrative mode encompasses more than just person and tense.