I’m on my way to Portland today – going to teach at Chip MacGregor’s Master Seminar on How to Write Best-selling Fiction. So, I’m sitting on a plane. Next to people. They may talk to me. The thing is…sometimes they tell me more than I need to know. Have you ever been on a plane where the seatmate begins to talk to you…and suddenly they are going into their life history, and their recent divorce, and their children’s problems, and the house she’s trying to sell and how she’s on her way to visit their mother who has shingles and…. So, already, I know way too much about her. This is why you want to reveal your character slowly, layer by layer. You don’t […]
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First Chapter Checklist for your Frasier Entry
Is it ready? I know that it’s hard as a writer to know if your first chapter is ready for the eyes of a reader – whether it be an editor or agent….or a judge for the Frasier. I know because I go through the same angst every time I write a book. Thankfully, I send it off to my writing partner, Rachel Hauck, and she’s brutally and sweetly honest with me. And now I’m going to help you be brutally and sweetly honest with yourself by giving you a Super Secret Frasier First Chapter Checklist. These are things that you need to make sure you’re communicating in the first chapter. 1. Have you created sympathy for your character so we love them? 2. Have you shown us your character’s […]
Read the RestWhy can’t you love me, baby?
Last month we spent a lot of time on our hero and heroine – and why they fall in love. This month, as we ponder what goes into writing a romance, we’re going to talk about why they can’t fall in love. First, let’s talk about romance for a second…falling in love is amazing. Regardless of your age, when you find that one you love, it stirs an breathlessness, an awakening in us that our beloved would…well, love us. Because, frankly, now one but you know why he or she shouldn’t. Right? You think: if he or she only knew the truth, they go running. But, eventually they do find out the truth… And they stay. And that’s what makes true love even more breathtaking. Add to that […]
Read the RestWhy do fools fall in love?
Hello from Atlanta! I can’t believe it’s been a week since I blogged last – so sorry. I was in Melbourne, FLA for the first annual Deep Thinker’s Retreat. What fun, with a great group of aspiring author. I just fell in love with this group of ladies! Why? Oh, I’ll tell you – First, I live in the woods, and when I say woods, I mean tucked into a little hamlet in the snowy tip of northern Minnesota, where ice and snow clasp us in solitude for the better part of four months. Worse, I am an extrovert, so….well you get the picture. I shed my layers going south, met my friend, stood on the beach and shouted out a hallelujah! The retreat Filled that Empty Place….you could say […]
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