Archive for the ‘Writing Craft’ Category

The problem with writing erotica is trying to come up with a compelling plot. I’m not talking about erotic romance or erotic suspense or any sub genre of erotica, I’m talking purely about straight erotica. When writing erotica, sex must be the integral part of the storyline. Sex is what tells the tale, what makes our characters evolve, and what delivers the…ahem…climax at the end.

Thousands of brilliant writers have books out there but their readers aren’t buying. In order to become a bestseller, Ezra Barany, author of the bestselling thriller The Torah Codes, says the question worth asking is, “What would Dan Brown do?”

I wrote about how I developed my character, Henrietta The Dragon Slayer, in my previous post here.
Today I thought I’d reflect on one of the biggest challenges I see in the manuscripts I edit, and even in some books I read: character motivation.
If I can’t relate to your character, if I don’t “get” her, it’s [...]

Welcome to the weekly series on craft. We authors need to write excellent books for our readers to enjoy. This week’s guest author on craft, Kat Duncan, shares about author’s voice. Check out her upcoming year-long novel writing course that begins in May 2011 at Savvy Authors. (Yippee!) We’d love to hear [...]

Please welcome guest columnist LJ DeLeon, a fantasy romance indie author sharing a bit about her writing process. I find how she develops characters quite useful! I’ll use some of her tips for my next novel.
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Creating Characters That Come Alive, Part 2 – Part 1 is here.
By LJ DeLeon
In my last blog, I [...]

Welcome to our bi-weekly posts from guest columnist, Bobbye Terry. This week she offers fun tips for thinking outside the box. We’re curious to hear your tips too! Share your thoughts with us! Thanks!
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A couple of months ago, I told Beth I planned to write about thinking outside of the box. It’s something I enjoy [...]

Welcome to our bi-weekly posts from guest columnist, Bobbye Terry. This week she asks some great questions for world building your series. We’re curious to hear your tips too! Share your thoughts with us! Thanks!

Authors have a job to do and they have to fool readers in order to do it. In good writing, the author seems to disappear and the reader gets lost in the story. It’s as if the story is telling itself. Yet author convenience, or author intrusion, breaks through the story veil and doesn’t let the reader get caught up in the story.

As I stated in yesterday’s post, many of us read to escape. As authors it’s our job to provide that escape to our readers. Many authors get caught up in telling the reader about an experience. But actually what creates the experience of escape is allowing us to feel the story.