Dear Auntie Deborah: Help! My characters have gone amok and won’t follow the plot of my book! What can I do to whip them into shape? — A Frustrated Author Dear Frustrated: The short (but brutal) answer is that your characters … Continue reading
Tag Archives: novels
This blog contains a little-finger dig at the Northwest Flower and Garden Festival. I used to be a regular at the February venue, looking forward to it from the bleak depths of a Seattle January. Getting a job with high … Continue reading
People have great book ideas. Yet despite their best efforts, they find it nearly impossible to complete a single chapter. All too soon they give up, disheartened. In this slender, easy-to-use volume, Phyllis Irene Radford–author of over forty books, and editor of twenty-five books and fifteen anthologies–gently guides writers through plot structure, realistic characters, dynamic writing, organizational tools, and the publishing industry from an insider’s point of view. So, if you’ve ever thought about writing a novel, this book can help you create a dynamic beginning, conquer the muddle in the middle, and write a powerful and satisfying ending with an experienced teacher holding your hand and giving examples.
Continue readingA beginner’s guide to writing the novel they’ve held close to their hearts but never written.
Continue readingWWW Wednesday. This meme is from shouldbereading. • What are you currently reading? Right at the moment I’m reading Kevin Barry’s City of Bohane. It’s very much an Irish “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” in that the narrative, which is omniscient … Continue reading
It cannot be repeated often enough that there is no single right way to write a novel (or to compose a symphony or design a house). All these artistic endeavors require certain elements (plot, characters, tension rising to a climax, … Continue reading
Once The Idea Fairy has deposited a packet beneath your pillow, or you’ve unwrapped the latest mail-order from Schenectady, you must decide, among other things, whether you’ve got a short-short or a multi-volume epic on your hands. … Continue reading