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Dazzling Dialogue—Part VIII

Posted on February 21, 2018 Leave a Comment

Have you ever had two conversations going on at the same time? One surface. One just below. That’s subtext. When done effectively, subtext adds depth with a sparkle to your dialogue, making it dazzle. Click to Tweet #DazzlingDialogue #amwriting

Dazzling Dialogue—Part III

Posted on January 17, 2018 Leave a Comment

One thing that readers can’t abide is slow-moving, wordy, dull dialogue that doesn’t seem to go anywhere or do anything. We’re looking at creating sparkling, dazzling dialogue that keeps readers interested. When writing dialogue, don’t use the character’s name in every line. Don’t overuse. We’re tempted to do that to keep straight who is speaking. […]

Dazzling Dialogue––Part II

Posted on January 10, 2018 Leave a Comment

Dialogue is a compression and extension of action. There are certain elements that are essentials to creating dazzling dialogue. Every character has a “want” in the scene. They’re saying something because they want something, or there is something they want to avoid. Click to Tweet #dazzlingdialogue #amwriting

Writing Scintillating Scenes––Part XII

Posted on June 14, 2017 Leave a Comment

They key to writing a page-turner novel is creating scintillating scenes––they shine, they’re dazzling, unforgettable, and brilliant. Writing sparkling scenes make the story something the reader can’t put down and will read long into the night. Click to Tweet #amwriting #scintillatingscenes We wrap this up with another scene model: reading scenes in context.

Seamless Self-Editing—Part I

Posted on February 17, 2016 Leave a Comment

You hear it more and more these days. Your manuscript must be “publish-ready” in order for it to be considered. Click to Tweet What does “publish-ready” mean? #amwriting #publish-ready #self-editing For the next few blog posts, we’ll look at this and how you can improve your raw writing into something closer to “publish-ready.” I’ll be […]

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers – Dialogue

Posted on February 26, 2015 Leave a Comment

I used this resource a while back to talk about Point of View. Because point-of-view is something a lot of writers struggle with. I know I did. But there’s so much more to this book. I’m going to focus on dialogue, because that’s another area where beginning writers turn potential editors and agents off. Now, […]

One Thing I Know

I follow Christ. His timing is perfect, and sometimes I get it right, and sometimes, I’ve tried to step out when it wasn’t the right time. I’ve done “previews” of what I felt God wanted me to do before and have met with some small success, but it was never the right time and nothing […]

Delay, Delay, Delay, Part 1

It seems as though my life has been made up of one delay after another — with the possible exception of my birth. I was small, only 5 lb., 8 oz. and had to be in an incubator for some days. I was released from the hospital when I was 13 days old. My first […]

FINISHING WELL

My first two novels went like clockwork, once the literary agency I was signed with decided to publish them through a special Amazon program. Meghan’s Choice was released in November 2017, and Rose’s Redemption followed in 2018. No problem. More about this in the next post.