All Blog Posts Tagged 'advice' (47)

How Many Characters Can Dance on the Head of a Pin?

Okay, to phrase it more clearly: how many characters in a book make too many characters in a book? Obviously if the book is epic in scope, it has to have a lot of people, but good authors help the reader keep track by gently reminding and clearly delineating. A simple statement like "Alex looked at Waverly, wondering what the detective was thinking" can keep a reader from losing track of who's who. I learned early on that keeping the character list small at the beginning of a story is helpful.… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on July 29, 2009 at 10:43pm — No Comments

The Short Story: Part II

Yesterday I wrote about what writing short stories does for a writer's style. Today I'll focus on what it does for her career. The word is EXPOSURE. I've written short stories in a dozen different places, and each one brings my name before readers. Readers can't decide they like your work until they hear of you. Hardly anyone goes into a bookstore and says, "I think I'll look for a book by someone I've never heard of." So I put a short story on my website. I submitted some stories to ezines li… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on July 10, 2009 at 7:30am — 1 Comment

The Short Story

First, I finally remembered to look at my interview, posted Tuesday, and it isn't too bad. Thanks to Sandra at Novel Journey (http://www.noveljourney.blogspot.com) for her attention. Today and tomorrow I'd like to look at the short story as a device for novleists. Today I'll focus on what it does for the writer; tomorrow on what it can do for her career. Short stories are of necessity short. That means that every word has to serve a purpose: no clever asides, no interesting but irrelevant fact… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on July 9, 2009 at 10:37pm — 1 Comment

Time for Reading (R)

Since I started writing, a strange guilt plagues me whenever I read: I feel like I should be writing instead. A really good book overcomes this guilt, because then I consider it research, honing my craft by reading expert writers. My own study of what I want to write and how I will do it makes me intolerant of what I consider mediocre work, so that I often don't finish a book if it hasn't grabbed me by fifty pages or so. I've been trying to expand my knowledge of writers' names, since I often… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on July 1, 2009 at 7:51pm — 4 Comments

Dealing with People You Can't Stand

I met a person last weekend who immediately made me angry, which doesn't happen all that often. We all have types we avoid, and for me it's the person who, obviously feeling that he/she knows best about everything and everyone, launches upon first meeting into an analysis of what you are doing that is WRONG, WRONG, WRONG. My anger faded quickly once I reminded myself that this person is actually a rather sad sort, trying to make the world fit an outdated idea with pure bombast and nastiness. I… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on June 17, 2009 at 12:09am — 3 Comments

The Professional Blogger

I met someone this weekend that I didn't even know existed: a professional blogger. I may say more about her in future entries, but she was very interesting to talk to. She studies what subjects people will find you to read about, which is of course the way to build readership and therefore interest in whatever you're presenting, in my case, books. She suggested cats. I know, I know. It sounds, if I may, fluffy. Still, people love pets, so if you talk about yours, they tend to read what you wri… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on June 15, 2009 at 8:54pm — No Comments

Talking to Myself

The difference it makes is amazing. I've spent the last few days reading the current WIP aloud, and hearing it is better than reading it. Not better as in "This is so good." Better as in, "That sounds fake," or "This whole passage doesn't fit in this spot." So it actually makes more work, but it's productive work. I can deal. Years ago, when I first started writing for public consumption, it was plays. I wrote for my students' dramatic productions because we couldn't find enough large-cast, gir… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on June 1, 2009 at 9:16pm — 2 Comments

If You Knew Then What You Know Now

I often hear people say that if they knew they were going to live this long, they'd have taken better care of themselves. I think writers find many areas of the business where a little forethought (or listening to the advice of those who've gone before) would have saved them work and frustration. Early on someone advised dating the file on a project in the file name. That way you always know which version is the most recent and, ostensibly, the best. I didn't do that for a long time, until chan… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on May 29, 2009 at 10:18pm — No Comments

Would You Like to Take a Look at It?

How many times as an author have you been asked that question? A person at a book signing or a speaking event hangs around, waiting for a chance to talk to you. Or an email arrives through your website contact. Or a phone call from an acquaintance from the blue. The method may vary but the message is the same: I've got something written down. Would you take a look at it? No. It isn't that we're mean people. It's that we aren't the ones who should be looking. We know no more about it than anyon… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on May 8, 2009 at 11:00pm — 5 Comments

Spying On A Thriller Writer: An Interview with Haggai Carmon

Reader's Entertainment caught up with espionage/thriller writer Haggai Carmon this week to talk about his new release, Chameleon Conspiracy and find out more about what makes this series, and this author, unique. Question: Using the Twitter method of answering (140 characters or less) tell us what makes your series different from others of the same genre? They’re different because I’m an insider. My thrillers are partially based on the real adventures I had while working undercover for the U.… Continue

Added by Sheila English on April 12, 2009 at 2:00am — No Comments

ENDings….the most important element of your story…..

Guest blogging today is the lovely and talented Rob Walker. I hear it all the time. Beginnings…the most important element of your story. Opening pages, first paragraphs, and so it goes, and every first word and first paragraph is absolutely important, sure. I also hear tell the… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on April 10, 2009 at 9:42pm — 3 Comments

Not the Type for Sticky Notes

Actually, I love sticky notes. I think they're fun and cool and I love all the bright colors. But for plotting, they just don't seem to help me. I promised myself I would try being organized with this book, so I followed the advice of a well-known author and started plotting via sticky notes. I see the advantages: you can move the plot around, try different timelines, and see where POV changes or major events occur. The problem for me is that it seems to add work rather than helping. I have th… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on March 31, 2009 at 10:09pm — 2 Comments

The Sum of Mediocrity-Maybe

Friday’s post on mediocrity garnered a lot of responses, and I have to thank those people for helping me get some perspective on the subject. I was blown away by the depth and understanding you all provided, and I agreed with everybody (and I'm not just being nice!) However, I still have to judge the entries to the contest, have to respond to those authors with written critiques, and I still can’t tell them precisely what it is they need to fix. Theirs isn’t bad writing, just adequate writing w… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on March 23, 2009 at 10:42pm — 6 Comments

A Writer's Prescription: 10,000 Hours

Andrew's comment echoes a speaker I heard at Sleuthfest a few weeks ago: in order to become proficient at anything, a person has to devote about 10,000 hours to it. The woman added her contention that for writers, another 10,000 hours has to be spent reading the work of others. For many of us, the second part is easy. I'd probably logged 10,000 hours of reading before I was twenty. I'd add that those 10,000 hours of writing have to be focused. A golfer spending days practicing the wrong methods… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on March 18, 2009 at 9:31pm — No Comments

Writing Prescription: 10,000 hours

Andrew's comment from yesterday echoes a Sleuthfest speaker who mentioned the same thing: that a person has to devote at least 10,000 hours to something to become proficient at it. The woman added her contention that for writing, you also have to read at least 10,000 hours of other people's work. That part, for many of us, does come easy. I'd probably logged 10,000 hours by the time I was twenty, long before I ever thought of publishing a book as something I might want to do. Like anything else… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on March 18, 2009 at 9:17pm — No Comments

The Point of It All

I've been reporting on what was discussed/presented at Sleuthfest, and I think the comments I've gotten bring us to the point of writing, which is "WRITE." We all have different methods, motivations, and machinations that bring us to keyboard or paper, pull us through plotting or pantsing, and assist us in fixing and finalizing. I like hearing what others do, and I appreciate those who comment here with their own input. It's helpful to listen and compare, because we can all pick up tidbits that… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on March 6, 2009 at 10:03pm — No Comments

Should I Stay or Should I Go...On?

Another idea from Sleuthfest. Several speakers advised what I guess you can call forward-writing: not letting yourself edit until you've got a first draft. I've made my case on this one before. Can't do it. The idea is that you don't look back. You make yourself write on because (they say) the act of editing can become a stalling technique and a writer can become lost in "this could be better." While I agree with that, I find that editing sets the story-thus-far in my mind so that I don't go of… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on March 5, 2009 at 10:32pm — 3 Comments

Pacing

Another interesting refresher at Sleuthfest concerned pacing. I'm a pantser and probably always will be, but I've learned over time that there comes a reckoning. I write until I get to a certain point. I know the beginning and the end, but there's that muddle in the middle that must be dealt with: things have to happen, people have to be spotlighted as either red herrings or to foreshadow their guilt in the end. But it can't lag or droop. It has to have focus, clarity, and interest. That's when… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on March 4, 2009 at 9:03pm — 1 Comment

What Characters Want

As announced, I'm summarizing things from Sleuthfest that served as reminders to me of what writing is all about. Today's blog focuses on what Brad Meltzer had to say about making readers want to read what you write. He maintains that you need to figure out what a character wants first. What does your protagonist want? By asking yourself careful questions about what he/she desires from life, you know where to start. Then you need to acquaint the reader with that, of course in an interesting way… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on March 3, 2009 at 8:29pm — 3 Comments