Fiction Writing

  You’ve got your writing group up and running. All the hard work’s over, right? Wrong. Just like any smooth-running machine, a…

  A previous post detailed synonyms for story. This entry defines words identifying various genres — categories of story types — and…

  Some time ago, I wrote a highly skeptical post about self-publishing. I stand by my concerns, but I realize my initial…

  A reader asks how a writer wishing to create “a redneck swagger” would rewrite the “regular English” sentence “You’re surprising to…

  Writing is one of the loneliest pursuits (or professions), and as I know as well as anyone, enthusiasm for expressing oneself…

  Think of all the things you do each day, including mundane tasks like getting dressed, cooking meals, and speaking to other…

  I was bemused recently to read in the acknowledgments section of a book the author’s expression of gratitude toward someone who…

  How many plot types are there, and does it really matter? And if you write nonfiction, rather than fiction, why should…

  Religion, legends, and literature alike are replete with various conceptions of ethereal or terrestrial paradises or places with romantic flair. Here…

  Bear in mind after they booed Bob Dylan for going electrical on the Newport People Competition? And isn’t it disgusting how…