Write well. Write often. Edit wisely.
Characters look phony and unreal, making fiction seem unreal, when writers give them concurrent actions that can’t possibly happen at the same time.
Continue reading Multi-Tasking Characters or Impossible Actions? »
All writers, not only those who write sci-fi and fantasy, are world builders. Explore the elements of fictional world building.
Fiction can be sterile and bland and seemingly perfect, but sterile stories don’t engage the reader. Be encouraged to bypass the safe and sterile and instead write engrossing stories.
Continue reading The Sterile Story—Don’t Write Another One »
Prologues are out of vogue, but can a novel have a prologue? It can if the prologue serves a purpose and doesn’t detract from the rest of the story.
Using contractions and writing in dialect are only two categories of word choices a writer must face. Explore the use of contractions and dialect in fiction.
A novel’s resolution can ensure a satisfying read or it can drive readers mad at the way it doesn’t fit the story. Learn more about story resolution in fiction.
Most writers have heard the instruction that says to write what you know. I suggest that writers instead write about subjects that move them. Write from your passions.
Conflict, one of the major elements of fiction, is story’s driver. It’s what propels story forward and from event to event. Read more about conflict and learn some tips for creating variety in story conflict.
Continue reading Conflict—Beyond Arguments and Fist Fights »
A reminder that manuscripts need edits and that edits take time. Encouragement for writers when they discover they’re not as close to the end of a writing project as they thought they were since editing can take as long as writing the first draft.
Should you outline your story before you begin writing or just jump in and write away? Plotters and pantsers each have their champions and their critics. But you should do what works for you.
Continue reading The Outline Dilemma—Plotting vs. Pantsing »
The reader will focus on what stands out. Turn the reader's attention where you want it to go.
Thank you for reading The Editor's Blog, an Internet resource for fiction writers,
freelance editors, and everyone who loves words
***
*****
Copyright © 2010-2018 E. A. Hill Visit Beth at A Novel Edit
Write well. Write often. Edit wisely.
