I am the author or co-author of seven published fiction titles. Along the way I’ve had the experience of working with four different writers. I’ve spoken many times to libraries and book conventions about how it is to work with another author. Many questions have been asked about the process. I’ve narrowed the list down…
Category Archives: Fiction Writing
Design Characters using Mind Maps
How do you design your characters? Some sources recommend filling in a questionnaire or CV. You need to answer questions like “what is her favourite film?”, or “what does he drink?” etc. This doesn’t work for me, because by the time I know the answers to those kind of questions I have written my novel. I design…
Philosophy 101 for Novelists
Whether writing a realistic or fantasy novel, the novelist is creating a fictional world where he or she is playing God, and that requires creating a worldview or philosophy and basic rules to govern that fictional world. Writers must know what their philosophy is and what worldview they will sell to their readers in order…
Keeping Track of Characters When Writing Fiction
Authors who write fiction have the advantage that they can make everything up, but the disadvantage is they have no sources to go back and check. Creating fictional characters requires great care to make sure no inconsistencies are introduced. Keeping records for your characters helps to make them realistic and effective and saves headaches later….
Can You Pick Your Killer Out of a Lineup?
Writing mysteries can be fun and challenging, but it can also prove to be frustrating – unless you decide to have some fun with it. I’ll be honest – in most of my writing I have been a plotster, planning out every clue and detail and knowing full well who my killer is well before…
Plot or Characters—Which Matters More?
Authors often deride plot-driven books in favor of focusing on character development. However, focusing on characters over plot can leave a reader asking, “What’s the point?” The characters and the plot are actually integral pieces of one another. A complaint many reviewers have is that the novels they review are lacking in story or plot,…
Backstories Make Fiction Rich
In writing fiction, creating a realistic world depends on the details. Characters are more developed when they have interesting pasts, pasts that shed light upon who they are in the present and which affect their actions and decisions for the future. By creating a backstory for characters and/or for a fictional world, the author pulls…
Characters in Conflict
For a strong story, you need conflict. But conflict doesn’t just come from dramatic things happening. It comes from the character – what he or she needs and wants, and why he or she can’t get it easily. Let’s start with a premise: a kid has a math test on Monday. Exciting? Not really. But…
Why Be a Beta Reader?
One of the most important parts of my writing process is to find beta readers. Oh, there’s different types of beta readers and all of which I use for different reasons. They are indispensable in the process of getting your writing in shape. YOUR STORY AND THE READER’S Oh, yeah, there is always more than…
How to Speed Write
Nano (National Novel Writing Month) runs from November 1st-30th. It’s the writing frenzy where you kick out a large number of words to hopefully finish a novel in record time. Many people start the challenge and end up with a sizable number of pages by the end. Some are inspired to start writing for the…
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