So, it’s Freitag here in Deutschland. Freitag = Free Day = Friday. Actually, most of the days of the week in German are strikingly similar to English. Zum Beispiel (For example): Montag = Monday Dienstag = Tuesday Mittwoch = Wednesday (Okay, so this one’s pretty different, but Mittwoch literally means mid-week–that makes sense, don’t you […]
A friend recently asked, “What’s your novel about?” Good question. I’ve been putting off the logline post, but no longer. I shall grace you with it today. What’s a logline? It’s supposed to be that catchy sentence that makes you want to read the book/watch the movie/play the game. For novels, it’s typically a one-sentence-description […]
I am pushing through the last chapters of my book. I’m on chapter 19 with 264 pages…I should end up with about 25 chapters. I just have to stay focused. So, I was looking for some inspiration (meaning that I wasn’t actually focusing), and I ended up with a passage from Peter S. Beagle’s The Last […]
(back to Classes) A friend requested an entry on the semicolon, which he feels is underused. Alas, if this were only the case in literary circles. According to many an agent and editor’s blog, the semicolon is often overused — thereby producing the dreaded Mark of an Amateur. Now, of course, using it occasionally and […]
Peter Fox is a very popular German musician, and he seems like a pretty cool dude to me. Not so sure about the video for Alles Neu, but it’s still my favorite song from his most recent album, Stadtaffe (which means City Ape in German). Enjoy and continue reading for info on point of view. […]
(back to Classes) Punctuation What is the appropriate punctuation for dialogue? Well, in U.S. English, we use quotation marks, like this: “…” U.K. English is: ‘…’ Germans use different quotes: „…” or «…» And also in French and Spanish: «…» But, that’s just extra info. Going back to the U.S. English quotes, we end dialogue […]
Dialogue is when the characters speak. Action is when the characters do things. Narrative is when it’s neither dialogue nor action–maybe it’s description, maybe it’s backstory, or maybe it’s just a long passage of the narrator’s thoughts. It’s those parts you start to skim. All three are critical to the story and all three can […]
As you’ve probably figured out, we named our Irish Setter puppy after Isaac Asimov, the prolific science fiction writer. It’s not just because I enjoy his works either–and I do, let me tell you. Robot series and Foundation series, amazing. I also really admire the man, though. Listen: He wrote or edited over 500 books. […]
I thought I’d discuss the key points of the plot today (instead of writing, like I should be doing): Inciting Incident Plot Point 1 Midpoint Plot Point 3 Black Moment Resolution I suggested this book earlier, and I’ll do it again: Write Great Fiction: Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell. Inciting incident There’s no […]
What is is that makes the reader keep turning pages? What keeps the story interesting? Just think of Jerry Springer. We’ve all watched the show and thought, “Damn, those are some effed up people.” But we keep watching–especially when the fights break out. It’s all about the conflict, baby.