Monthly Archives: March 2010

Why a movie trailer is like a query letter

By Susan | Published: March 31, 2010

How is a movie trailer like a query letter? Or, you may be asking what is a query letter? Quick answer: in the world of book publishing, you never submit your raw manuscript to an agent or editor. Instead, you send a query, which is a letter approximately one page long that details your novel. [...]

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What makes a writer? Labeling ourselves as who we really are.

By Susan | Published: March 29, 2010

We, as humans, label ourselves. It’s a fact of life, though we often insist that labels are detrimental. But, if you think about it, all nouns are just…well…labels. They’re words that apply to some person, place, or thing, and those words enable us to identify persons, places, and things. The part that people dislike about [...]

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Progress Party (complete with cake)

By Susan | Published: March 26, 2010

Ahh, the rains of spring have arrived here in our German village, and with them, the first flowers and new leaves. Inside my cozy home, the weather is just the same.  My manuscript and I are raising a veritable hurricane, and already I can see the gleam of polished prose. Revisions are my favorite part [...]

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We now interrupt your regularly scheduled program…

By Susan | Published: March 24, 2010

To all my dear readers, I apologize for my blogging infrequency the last week.  It’s probably going to continue for quite some time.  But there is a reason — and it’s a valid reason! I’m revising Miss Eleanor Fitt and the Spirit-Hunters.  My months of preparation are finally in the application stage.

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13 Fantasy/Sci-fi “Clichés”

By Susan | Published: March 18, 2010

In a continuation of my cliché post, I thought I’d share some of the more entertaining “Stories We’ve See Too Often”, which is a part of the submission guidelines of Strange Horizons magazine. Several made me laugh in knowing condescension (I even arched an eyebrow and stroked my chin), while several made me cringe in [...]

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The First Five Pages: a review

By Susan | Published: March 17, 2010

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Noah Lukeman’s The First Five Pages is a well-known guide to writers that, rather than offer rules for “great writing”, lays out “ways to avoid bad writing.” Lukeman is a literary agent, so he knows all about the importance of hooking your reader in the opening pages of your [...]

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Clichés in Fiction

By Susan | Published: March 15, 2010

A cliché is a saying, expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, rendering it a stereotype, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel. The term is frequently used in modern culture for an action or [...]

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Alice in Wonderland: a rant and review

By Susan | Published: March 11, 2010

Last night I was in the highest of spirits as my husband and I made way to the movie theater. Alice in Wonderland had arrived, and best of all, they were showing it in English! My spirits quickly plummeted, hit the ground in disappointment, and then got flattened with boredom and fury. The newest Alice [...]

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Website complete!

By Susan | Published: March 10, 2010

Phew! After much toil, tears, and temper-tantrums, I finally managed to create my very own, bright and shiny website.  Aren’t you proud?  I sure am.  I definitely did not know what I was getting into when I set out on this task. Like, I had heard of HTML.  I mean, I knew that all websites [...]

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Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook: a review

By Susan | Published: March 9, 2010

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 This book, by Donald Maass, is an extension of his Writing the Breakout Novel (WtBN).  While some refer to WtBN as a “masters course in novel-writing”, WtBN Workbook takes it up a big notch to PhD-level.  Maass doesn’t pretend that his method will be quick or easy – in fact, he emphasizes that it should take years to fully [...]

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  • About Sooz

    Hi! I'm Susan Dennard. I'm a reader, writer, animal-lover, and cookie-eater. My debut novel, Something Strange and Deadly, will be available in July 2012!

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