[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” custom_css_main_element=”li:not(:last-child) {|| margin-bottom: 10px;||}”] Setting is the background against which you tell your story. At its most basic, setting includes the place and time of your tale — the where and when. But to really nail setting and tap into its power to grip the reader…
Category: Writing Q & A
Can a First-Person Narrator Die?
Let me state right up front … YES, your first-person narrator can die. Your story is your story, after all, and you can make anything at all happen within the confines of those pages. That said, whether you should kill your first-person narrator is another story. Before we dive into the particulars, though, a quick…
What Is a Mary Sue Character?
“Mary Sue” is a shallowly written character with few flaws. “She” can be either female or male, though the latter is often called “Gary Stu” or something similar. Mary Sue has her origins in fan fiction, but she has been identified in more traditional forms of writing, too. While Mary Sues come in different flavors,…
How Much Detail Should You Use to Describe Your Main Characters?
Writers tend to fall in love with our main characters, and for good reason — we spend weeks, months, or years with them, and they drive our plots forward. It’s not surprising, then, that our first instinct is to describe our protagonists’ physical features down to the last bit of peach fuzz on their cheeks….
How Much Should You Write Every Day?
When the word gods bestowed upon a young Enheduanna the gift of cuneiform, they said unto her, “Thou shalt write for a minimum of three hours and produce at least 1253 words every day.” That’s why aspiring authors everywhere still use those numbers as a benchmark and strive to boost their word counts and butt-in-chair time…
Which Point of View Is Best – First Person, Second Person, Third Person?
One of the first questions you need to answer when starting your new novel is which point of view you plan to use. It’s a choice that could affect everything from your voice to your individual plot points, so you need to consider it carefully. Most of the time, for most authors and most storylines,…
‘Show, Don’t Tell’ – Is It Good Advice?
[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”] “Show, Don’t Tell” is one of those golden nuggets of writing advice that has become so ubiquitous, so often re-uttered, that it has almost lost its meaning among writers trying to improve. It’s a part of our normal speech pattern at this point. “Hey, John, great to see you!” “You,…
Do You Really Have to Kill Your Darlings?
[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] With one flurry of keyboard strokes in On Writing, Stephen King set down what has become an ironclad rule for a generation of writers: Kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart, kill your darlings. It’s an intriguing…
What Is ‘Theme’ in Writing?
Theme is one of the primary concepts in writing effective fiction, yet it is often elusive for writers. Nail your theme consistently throughout a story or book, and you’ll leave a lasting impression on your reader. Without theme, though, your story is just a collection of words. What Is Theme? Theme is tricky to define….
Should You Wake Up Early to Write?
Little kids the world over and from time immemorial have been graced with the wise advice of their elders. When it comes to getting ahead in life, the counsel usually goes something like: “The early bird gets the worm!“. It’s trite and overused and yet … we still hear this advice all the time. Not…