Article Archives — Author

Show, Don't Tell: Real Examples, Real Books, Real Good Stuff

by Erin Brown

Show, Don't Tell! This maxim makes writers want to tear their hair out more than any other (well, other than, "Our agency isn't interested, but best of luck"). I've touched upon this topic a few times in the past, but inevitably, almost every first-time author I work with must overcome the tendency to "tell" instead of "show."

Many writers become frustrated thinking that the essential writing advice of "Show versus tell" means that every plot point must be shown (Egads, does that mean that I need to include everyone's point of view???? What about when my character goes to the bathroom—do I have to show that?).

Erin BrownDecember 14, 2010Comment

Using Relationships to Reveal your Characters

by Jason Black

Abbot had Costello, Lucy had Ricky, Holmes had Watson, and Gilligan had The Skipper. Characters are never alone. It’s simple; we are social creatures. We go better together. Some part of us needs others with whom to share our thoughts and feelings.

Even characters who seem to be alone often aren’t, although their companions may take unusual forms. In Cast Away, shipwrecked Chuck Nolan had his volleyball. In 2001: A Space Odyssey, astronaut Dave Bowman had HAL, the murderous computer nemesis who is without doubt the most well-remembered character in the story.

Jason BlackDecember 14, 2010Comment

But the Grammar Check Thingy Said

by Cherie Tucker

If you give your protagonist an unusual name, say Chingachgook, Spell check will flag it. It does so, not because that name is spelled wrong, but because it’s not in Spell check’s memory bank. Most of the time, you can easily see if you have actually misspelled something or if the machine just doesn’t have that word in its dictionary (or hasn’t read The Last of the Mohicans). With the grammar checker, however, it’s not as easy to tell.

Cherie TuckerNovember 14, 2010Comment

Hard Frost. Slow Dance.

by Laura Munson

This is the time of year when the muse is hungry. Starved by a summer in Montana where the physical world bullies you to come out into it and join the dance that leads with mountains, and twirls with rivers, and rests in lakes—a spent tango. And we find ourselves in fall. The physical dance over. Time to go home in the dark. There is a lot of darkness now.

This morning was the first hard frost. I could see it on the roof by moonshadow, silver and glinting off shingles. It was confirmed by the first light over the ridge as I stood at the stove making my first cup of tea—the Mother cup.

Laura MunsonNovember 14, 2010Comment

Agent Query: Kate McKean

with Brian Mercer

Tell me, Kate, about your path to becoming a literary agent?

Kate: I was an English major at the University of Florida, and while there my smart older sister suggested I get an internship at the University Press of Florida. That taught me the ropes and turned into a full time job after I graduated. I then went to graduate school for my Masters in Fiction Writing at the University of Southern Mississippi, where I worked on my own craft and editing skills. It was awesome.

Brian MercerNovember 14, 2010Comment

Perfect It Later

by Jennifer Paros

Recently I was listening to an audio recording of life coach/teacher Mandy Evans* speaking with a man who was in the process of completing an advanced degree. He had a paper due and spoke of his distress over getting it done. He described having to “force” himself to write it and was wondering if there was an easier way.

Jennifer ParosNovember 14, 2010Comment

What Moves Us

by Jennifer Paros

Several weeks ago, I found myself suffering again. I observed the situation and quickly diagnosed it as “writing-related” and acknowledged that I was frightened to return to working on my book. Once again, I was confused about the story and feeling inadequate to the task. Because the writing wasn’t coming easily, I condemned myself for not knowing the route I was to take and this condemnation was creating a sense of failure and hopelessness.

Jennifer ParosNovember 14, 2010Comment

Words of Thanksgiving for Wordsmiths

by Erin Brown

Oh, Ralphie, you were such an old sap. Just like Emerson, this time of year always makes me nostalgic (and full of thanks and giving, duh). I often wax poetic on the good old days when the settlers and Indians gathered to break bread (and deer hindquarters), a nice pause before the centuries of raids and decimation by horrible illnesses. But let’s focus on the uplifting Thanksgiving of today, with its football obsession, non-smallpox-spreading blankets to warm us in front of the fire, and the ability to gather with friends without being concerned that we’ll have to resort to eating each other to make it through the harsh winter.

Erin BrownNovember 14, 2010Comment

Inspiring Readers with Ordinary Characters

by Jason Black

There’s really no denying that the publishing industry is particularly hot for young adult and paranormal books right now. Largely we can thank J.K. Rowling for this, and for the tsunami of paranormal YA books that have followed in the wake of Harry Potter’s wild success.

Yet something about this combined trend unsettles me. Although I don’t feel that the Harry Potter series itself is guilty of this, I do feel that many of its emulators are doing their audiences a disservice.

Jason BlackNovember 14, 2010Comment

More Red Flags

by Cherie Tucker

In Sheridan’s play The Rivals, there is the delightful Mrs. Malaprop, who hilariously uses the not-quite-right words to express herself and lent her name to that mix-up. My favorite is “He is the very pine-apple of politeness!” (for pinnacle, in case you didn’t get it). The innocently used wrong word causes the reader to cringe and breaks the spell you are trying to cast with your writing. Here are a few to be aware of and some tips for remembering which is which:

Cherie TuckerOctober 14, 2010Comment

The Rise of the “Fearsome” e-BookWhat Does It Mean for You?

by Erin Brown

As I made my way back from my role as a “book doctor” at yet another successful PNWA Writers Conference a few weeks ago, I reminisced about how meaningful and inspiring it is to interact with new and old writers (not old as in sagging knee skin, but as in previously published writers). Conferences always give me a special shot of enthusiasm and love for the art of writing itself, versus the business of publishing—mighty strange considering almost every author there is trying to get published.

Erin BrownOctober 14, 2010Comment

First Do No Harm

by Nancy Rappaport MD

I wrote my recent memoir In Her Wake: A Child Psychiatrist Explores the Mystery of Her Mother’s Suicide over eighteen years. In the middle of the night I tried to resurrect my mother, to have her come alive across time, to create someone that the reader cared deeply about. It was a private exploration.

My mother died by suicide when I was four years old, after a protracted custody battle with my father in 1963.

Nancy RappaportSeptember 14, 2010Comment

Either . . . Or or Neither . . . Nor?

by Cherie Tucker

By now we all should know that subjects must agree with their verbs in number—singular with singular; plural with plural. It’s fairly easy if you have only one subject doing something. It’s those pesky compounds that cause the trouble.

If the compound subjects (that means two or more) are joined by and, the subject becomes plural and requires a plural verb.

Cherie TuckerSeptember 14, 2010Comment

The Voice of Possibility

by Jennifer Paros

I read an article about an Australian woman who gave birth to twins prematurely; they were born at 27 weeks. The girl was fine but the boy was declared dead by the doctor after twenty minutes of attempted resuscitation. The mother unwrapped the baby and laid him against her skin, held him and talked to him for two hours until he began showing signs of life. He seemed to gasp for air; the doctor dismissed it as a reflex action, but when the mother fed the baby breast milk from her finger his breathing normalized. Soon he opened his eyes. And what seemed to be The Impossible became Possible.

Jennifer ParosSeptember 14, 2010Comment

What’s the Worst Thing You Can Do to Your Characters?

by Jason Black

Think about your work in progress, and ask yourself, “What’s the worst thing I could do to my protagonists?” Kill all his friends? Push him off a cliff? Make him step on a land mine? Burn his house down? Let him get dumped, loudly, in public? Or maybe just shoot him in the groin?

Now think about what’s the best thing you could do to him, and consider the following. For your book to be successful, you need readers to be rooting for your protagonist. You need readers to be in his corner, cheering him on.

Jason BlackSeptember 14, 2010 Comment

You Can Change Your Writing Ritual

by Laura Yeager

A writing ritual is something we feel we must experience in order to write. For example, some writers MUST smoke cigarettes while they’re writing, or they won’t pen a word. Or some must play music while writing.

All of us have writing rituals such as these, and all of us believe that they're set in stone. We think we must go through our sacred ritual steps in order to produce something brilliant, or at least, something half-way decent. But little do most writers know, writing rituals can be changed.

Laura YeagerAugust 14, 2010Comment

The Writer's Bible

by Cherie Tucker

People always ask me for the name of a good reference book. The very best one for information on the basics and ease of use is The Gregg Reference Manual by the late William A. Sabin. Lots of people say they have Strunk & White’s Elements of Style or the Chicago Manual of Style, and those are both excellent. However, they are style manuals, and that word presumes that the reader has some knowledge of the basics. If grammar and usage are your things, then those kinds of books will serve you well.

Cherie TuckerAugust 14, 2010Comment

Trapped: Trying to Solve an Impossible Equation

by Jennifer Paros

The other day I found myself thinking about the Chinese finger trap. For those of you out of the know – it’s that woven, hollow tube into which we insert our pointer fingers at either end, pull to get out, and find ourselves stuck. If we keep pulling, we stay trapped, but if we relax and stop trying to escape, the thing loses its grip.

I like this toy because it reflects how both real feeling trapped can be, and that being trapped is always a product of struggling against.

Jennifer ParosAugust 14, 2010Comment

Using Backstory Effectively

by Jason Black

In my last article I talked about how the careless inclusion of backstory information can ruin the presentation of otherwise compelling characters. This month is about strategies through which you can convey a character’s background without those problems. Best of all, while poor application of backstory undermines your story, careful presentation of backstory can actually enhance your story. Here are four ways to use backstory effectively:

Jason BlackAugust 14, 2010Comment

The Essential Equation: P = T2 (Plot equals trouble squared)

by James Thayer

Stephen King says, “Let’s get one thing clear right now, shall we? There is no Idea Dump, no Story Central, no Island of the Buried Bestseller.” When we find a plot, how can we know if it’s worth spending a year or two developing and writing? It’s a tough question.

But here is a key technique that will help our plotting: readers do not want true life. Someone who has paid for a novel does not want a replica of his or her own life presented in a novel. She wants an escape from her life. Excitement, not routine. The extraordinary, not the ordinary.

James ThayerJuly 14, 2010Comment