As Ellen Gable launched the O’Donovan family series, she proved her skill as a devious plot-weaver, maintaining relentless suspense throughout this romance novel. Her attention to the details of daily life recreated the beauty and ugliness of the Philadelphia suburbs, circa 1876. Her festive tour of the Centennial Exposition shared […]
Books, and Toned Middles
Last month, I talked about beginnings and how important they are to drawing the reader in to your book. It seems appropriate to continue on to story middles today. Middles ought to be pretty simple. After all, it’s the stuff that happens between the beginning and the end. Many authors, however, struggle […]
Crafting the Elements of an Event
The best book I’ve ever read on crafting a story is Story: Substance, Structure, Style & The Principles of Screenwriting by Robert McKee. It was actually recommended to me by a priest a few years ago who happened by my blog and read a post in which I was lamenting […]
Gotcha! Hooks: What They Are and How to Create Page-Turning Fiction
What’s a hook??? I admit to scratching my head over that term, and for a much-too-long time. I would hear it when people were discussing top-selling novels; I’d see it in articles about the craft of writing. It was a frequent comment from my critique partners. “Not much of hook […]
Lions and Tigers and Bears! Oh, my! Tension, Conflict, and Suspense – Creating Compelling Stories
One of the most fundamental techniques of fiction writing is skillful creation of tension, sometimes referred to as conflict. Our favorite authors hook us on page one with a character so compelling that we read further to find out what happens. The character is engaging, with likeable traits that endear […]