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The Princess Bride—Storytelling Done Right

on April 13th, 2011 by Fiction Editor Beth Hill

Fiction can become real for readers. A look at how The Princess Bride combined narration with showing and captured not only a little boy’s attention, but the attention of a wide audience.

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Tags: entertainment, scene, storytelling Posted in: Craft & Style

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Write Scenes Rather Than Reports

on March 25th, 2011 by Fiction Editor Beth Hill

Scenes—someone doing something somewhere—are the pulse and images of the novel. Don’t skimp on scenes. Use exposition to connect them, but be sure you write them. Listening to a character’s thoughts, without knowing where and when he is, can make for dull reading.

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Tags: scene, showing Posted in: Craft & Style

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Sex in Fiction—Do They or Don’t They?

on March 3rd, 2011 by Fiction Editor Beth Hill

Not all novels contain sex scenes, but for those that do, the sex needs to fit genre and character and plot. Learn what it takes to add sex to fiction.

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Tags: character, scene, sex Posted in: Craft & Style, How to

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So maybe it's not only about the words. It's about syntax. And plot. And action. It's voice and pacing and dialogue...

It's about characters with character.

It's about putting the words together to touch, to entertain, to move the reader.

So, yeah, maybe it's all about the words...

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