This well-made film offers a great example of how to turn a popular novel into a movie. The film eliminates several minor characters and shortens something that preoccupies Katniss in the novel, whether she'll go along with playing someone's girlfriend to score points with the audience for the Hunger Games. A common mistake for novelists writing a first script would be to take … [Read more...]
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. Recently, one of my … [Read more...]
Coming up with a Great Opening for a Novel
Nothing is more critical than the first few lines of a story, since this will often influence whether or not a reader will continue with a work. And a great opening is never more important than for a non-established writer who is trying to garner an audience or the budding author who is trying to acquire an agent or publisher. Writer's like Dickens and Woolf Provide a Lofty … [Read more...]
Finding an Agent For Your Novel – How a Query Letter Differs From a Synopsis
Query Letter Writing - a Daunting Dilemma Some years ago, to add to a discussion I was encouraging related to the nuances of query letter writing, a woman who had just received a contract for her first novel--and with Simon & Schuster no less--wrote me to lament how arduous she had found the task of crafting her missive to appeal to agents. She admitted that she … [Read more...]