Appealing to the Senses, Part 3
Click here for part 1 and here for part 2. For the last couple of articles I’ve been talking about how to make your story come alive by appealing to the reader’s senses, by “showing, not telling.” I pointed out that the human body has several different ways of sensing and reacting to the world. We’re […]
Appealing to the Senses, Part 2
Recently I wrote about appealing to the senses and stated that humans have more than just the five sensory inputs that you learned in school. Any time that you use a human viewpoint character as a “camera,” you need to be appealing to the senses. You should input the character’s thoughts and feelings as well, […]
Put Your Imaginarium to Good Use
Where do you go to dream? Do you have a place? This physical space is what I call and imaginarium. Some people do it in the shower or while washing dishes or while driving a car. Those can all work, but I wonder, do they work well? How can you put your imaginarium to good […]
Appealing to the Senses, part 1
Envision a reader picking up your novel. As she begins to read, she hopes to be transported into a story, one that is rich and detailed, one that takes her away from her own place and time. Now, as she reads, she may be sitting in her living room, while a turkey bakes in the oven, and a fan rotates overhead. She may have been worrying about her sister’s sick dog, and perhaps a sore throat.
Don’t Stress Out!
One form of writer’s block comes from being stressed. This is almost always a temporary condition, and there are ways to work around it, but much depends on the source of your stress. Stress has a variety of sources, and affects you in seemingly innumerable ways. It is bad for your health, and also your […]
Into the Swamp
Very often I like to think of the writing worlds as a swamp. A big swamp infested with crocodiles and quicksand and rattlesnakes, and deep in the heart of the swamp is buried treasure. And of course the new author is like an intrepid explorer, foraying into that swamp with a single purpose, to retrieve […]
Time to Get Serious
A lot of people “play” at writing. We tend to think of it as a hobby or a pastime. But I sometimes wonder how much great art is really created by those who don’t take their work seriously. I wonder how serious Mozart really was about his music, or how dedicated Rembrandt was to his […]
Is My Novel Too Long?
I got this question once about writing large novels. We may all ask a variation of it, is my novel too long? How precise can I be? Is this much detail too boring? “So much advice to writers is about suspense, or scene goals, or characters overcoming conflict. One published author told me to take […]
Persistence Is Key
There is a myth among the general public that the greatest writers are born with uncanny innate talents that average folks dare not aspire to. Yet there is only a sliver of truth to that argument. Talent is helpful, especially for new authors who are just trying to break in, but you can’t make a […]
Turning Points
Whenever you have a story that seems too predictable, look for ways to add turning points. If a character is trying to figure out how to get from point A to point B, figure out how to force him to go to point C first. If he thinks that he understands someone else’s motivations or goals—say those of a lover or killer—surprise the reader with a twist that casts the story in a new light.