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Writing Scintillating Scenes––Part VIII

Posted on May 17, 2017 Leave a Comment

How do you begin your scenes? There are several ways to open a scene. Let’s look at them. The way you open a scene will either draw the reader in or they’ll put your book down. Click to Tweet #amwriting #scintillatingscenes

Creating Suspense––Part VI

Posted on November 2, 2016 Leave a Comment

The clock is ticking. Will the hero save the girl? How will they escape the villain? We’ve looked at the term “cliff-hanger” –– what it means and its modern origins in the silent film era. But even after sound, cliffhangers kept moviegoers in suspense. They’ll keep your readers turning pages. Click to Tweet #amwriting #creatingsuspense We’re […]

Creating Suspense––Part III

Posted on October 5, 2016 Leave a Comment

I’m a story guzzler. I love historical, but I also love suspense, mysteries, and at times, thrillers. But not so much sci-fi or fantasy. We’re looking at suspense, and how to create it. Did you know there are different strands to suspense? Different strands of suspense work together to support the whole. Click to Tweet […]

Creating Suspense––Part II

Posted on September 28, 2016 Leave a Comment

I’m not a suspense writer, but I love to read it. Last week we talked about suspense asking the question “What happens next?” What about mysteries? Are there differences between mystery and suspense? Can a story have both? Click to Tweet #amwriting #creatingsuspense

Creating Suspense––Part I

Posted on September 21, 2016 Leave a Comment

I’m not a suspense writer, but I love to read it. A few years ago, I wrote Zorro stories on FanFiction, and I learned a little bit about creating suspense, just by doing it. In this new series, we’ll talk about what suspense is, and how to use it for whatever genre you write. Suspense […]

Crossing Over into a New Year—Part 2

Moving Past Loss As we get older, every year it seems, things get harder and sometimes there are things we’d love to hold on to, that we can’t. And things we wish we could get rid of, but we also can’t. I’m not talking about things we have much control over, such as emotional problems […]

Crossing Over into a New Year – Part 1

A Glance At the Past I don’t know about you, but I’m always recharged and hopeful whenever we cross over into a new year. It’s a chance to start fresh, to put the past year behind us, and make hopeful plans for the future. I just know this year is going to be great! What […]

Preparing for Storms-Part 2

Batten Down the Hatches! “Batten down the hatches!” Do we even know what that means? According to the grammar website Grammar Monster (https://www.grammar-monster.com/sayings_proverbs/batten_ down_the_hatches.htm), the following shows different and correct usages for this phrase. Click to read more.