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Fight scenes in a story or novel need purpose, rising tension and differing camera angles. But wait! There’s more. Writing Tip for Today: Let’s look at some more features of effective fight scenes. Use Powerful Verbs & Words Fight scenes (literal or figurative) shine when you reach into your word bank for the most powerful […]
One of the lessons I learned while writing my first novel was how to stage and execute fight scenes. Whether the fight is physical, verbal or emotional, you can make your fight scene come alive. Writing Tip for Today: Here are some tips for writing effective fight scenes: Purpose Counts One of the basic yet […]
Hi everyone! Thanks for your patience while I helped out as care giver. Now, as August slips out the door, I’m back and thinking about good scene writing. Writing Tip for Today: Let’s take a look at some common scene problems: Once Isn’t Enough A common scene problem I see is repetition. Repeating either the […]
I’m driving home when I spot him. On a busy street corner, a man stands astride his bike. He looks a lot like my grown son. The uncanny resemblance cuts a path across my broken heart, carving fresh tracks where I’d tried to forget. I’m hurting and there’s no end in sight. My son’s meth-use […]
First, thanks so much for checking out the writing tips each week. This blog is about ten years old now–I can’t believe I still have stuff to say about the writing life. Due to COVID-19 in my extended (not immediate) family, I’m going to take a couple weeks off to watch my grandkids so my […]
In the last few posts we’ve gone through “big picture” rewriting and the smaller stuff. Perhaps you’ve gone through these revisions multiple times (hurray for you!). One of the last rewrites I usually tackle is my opening: chapter one. Writing Tip for Today: Let’s talk about tips for shining up your novel’s opening in chapter […]
When a drafted novel is in the “hot mess” stage, the word count may exceed original expectations. Many times, this problem boils down to the sentence and paragraph level, where repetition, overexplaining and unnecessary description inflates the total word count. But you can fix it! Writing Tip for Today: Let’s talk about ways to trim […]
Rewriting your scenes will require attention to each chapter’s ending scene. At the end of every chapter, you need your readers to turn the page. Reader engagement will be higher if your last scene in a chapter pulls readers to the next chapter. Writing Tip for Today: Let’s examine a few ways you can improve […]
Diving into a rewrite has often panicked me. All those great suggestions in critique group make no sense as I stare at my document. I’ve needed to learn ways to reimagine the scene to improve its impact. Writing Tip for Today: Here are a few ideas for re-imagining a scene: In Media Res In media […]
The wall clock in my kitchen ticks way too loud. Maybe it knows I’m about to live the nightmare once again. One of my live-in grown sons (drug of choice meth), hasn’t slept in days. He’s growing testier by the minute, a volcano of unhappiness, ready to spew hot fury without warning. The other boomerang […]
Linda has always been a daydreamer, artist and storyteller. In addition to doting on grandbabies, collecting too many cats, gardening and walking on the beach, she loves to write and to help writers develop their skills. [READ MORE…]
