Tag: writing craft
-
How to Improve Your Book’s Blurb (Guest Post by Rayne Hall)
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR BOOK’S BLURB by Rayne Hall The blurb (book description) on the book’s back cover and online product page is the most important part of the book. Almost everyone reads or at least skims it before deciding whether or not to buy. It probably plays a bigger role in your sales…
-
How to Write a Novel Without an Outline
Some writers out there might have objected to Shawn Coyne’s outline-centered approach in The Story Grid: What Good Editors Know. Staurt Horwitz would agree. He hates the term “outline”… so he calls his system a “method.” I wondered if this was just semantics, but after reading both his books, Book Architecture and Blueprint Your Bestseller,…
-
What Are the Obligatory Scenes for Genre Fiction?
I’ve been reading The Story Grid: What Good Editors Know by Shawn Coyne. It’s a meaty book on writing, from the point of view of an editor who has an eye for highly popular, commercially successful books. His method is similar to Scott Bell’s Save the Cat outlining method, and since I’m a fan of…
-
How to Write Riveting Captivity Scenes (Guest Post by Rayne Hall)
WRITING CRAFT: CAPTIVITY SCENES by Rayne Hall If you’re writing a novel, is there a scene where the heroine is imprisoned or locked up against her will? Here are some techniques to make this scene powerful. If possible, make the room dark or semi-dark. Perhaps she’s locked up in a lightless cellar, in a dungeon…
-
Only a Couple Days Left To Join my NaNoWriMo Workshop!
Registration for the 30 Day Novel Workshop closes soon so sign up today and get day-by-day and step-by-step video tutorials and tips for writing your NaNoWriMo novel. You can follow the videos at your own pace and will have access to all the videos through the end of the year. In addition to the free workbook, there…
-
Writing Craft: How To Give Your Novel a Gut-wrenching Black Moment
A guest post from Rayne Hall. If you’re writing a novel, consider a Black Moment about two thirds into the book. At this stage, everything and everyone has turned against the hero (who can, of course, be a heroine).The hero is under pressure and close to giving up. Internal and external conflicts have increased to…
-
Writing Craft: Body Language in Dialogue Scenes
A guest post from Rayne Hall. Body language can add another dimension to your dialogue scene, because it reveals a person’s intentions, feelings or mood. The five main types of body language are gesture, posture, movement, facial expression and tone of voice. Gesture Examples She pointed to the orchard. “I saw him there.” He slammed…