We are getting down to the last few days of the year. Know what that means? Well, yes, there will be parties, gifts, over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house we go. In fact, that’s what most of us are focused on. Yet, just hours after all that tradition draws to a close, we usher in a brand new year. If you want to be successful in 2013—and who wouldn’t, right?—you would be wise to put some things in place now to make certain you reach your goals. Winston Churchill said it best: Fail to plan and you plan to fail. In fact, chances are there will be some readers of this blog who will say, “I’ll read this blog post later, when I have more time.” […]
Read the RestArchive | Author Mistakes RSS feed for this section
A Word From Your Book Therapist: It’s All About Craft, Baby!
If you’ve hung around My Book Therapy for any length of time, you know we focus a lot on crafting a novel. If you’re new to MBT, we are about crafting a novel. Dictionary.com defines craft as: an art, trade, or occupation requiring special skill, especially manual skill: the craft of a mason. skill; dexterity: The silversmith worked with great craft. Let’s tailor the definition a bit. The writer must possess a special skill to ply his trade. The writer worked with great craft. The statistic is 80% of all people believe they have a book in them. How many do you suppose actually write that book? My guess is less than 20%. Why? Time, heart, passion, skill, talent. Resistance and procrastination. Above all, lack of knowledge which means lack of craft. Recently I started taking piano lessons. My teacher is starting off with music theory. I find myself […]
Read the RestStorytelling vs. Backstory
We’re continuing to blog questions from blog readers and MBT Voices. If you have a question, be sure to email me at Rachel@mybooktherapy.com. So, here’s today’s question. Q: How do I add “storytelling elements” to my novel without dumping backstory? A: The balance between back story and the action on the page is tricky but not hard. Let’s look at a few definitions before we outline some guidelines for weaving back story into a scene. Story telling elements are just those fragments of a characters life, history, wants, goals and desires that are necessary for filling out or understanding a scene. The trick is to deliver just enough emotion and history to intrigue the reader while filling them in on what’s going on. For example, if Sally is not excited […]
Read the Rest
