The end. Two of the most satisfying words a writer can tap onto a keyboard. We’ve all dreamed of typing those six letters, and many of us have been fortunate enough to have achieved that particular success. In my past few posts, we’ve discussed beginnings and middles. Let’s talk about […]
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 […]
What is the Theme of Your Story?
Searching for inspiration for my own writing (we never stop learning!) as well as ideas for this column, I recently picked up The Craft of Novel Writing by Dianne Doubtfire at a local library. It was originally written in the 1970s, so some of the advice has certainly changed. After […]
What’s it all about? How Theme can help your story shine.
Theme comes in lots of shapes, sizes, and variations, but embodies the core of what something is about, whether it’s your brand as a writer, the story you’re writing, the characters you’re writing about – or the music you’re listening to while writing. So what is theme, and how can […]