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Scooped by Ruth Long onto Write Fiction Right |
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... frankly, the world a reader is sucked into, doesn’t need to make all that much sense in the real world. If the writing is good and the world is complete and sensible within that world, then suspension of disbelief will automatically follow and we, the readers, will happily wade into a world of vampires, pixies, fairies, what have you without a second thought, that’s why we purchased the book in the first place.
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The difference between good dialogue and bad dialogue can mean the success or failure of a work of fiction. Use dialogue that serves a distinct purpose. Delete the scoop?
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What makes the work of a novelist sell well?
Genius, good connections in the publishing world – or just old-fashioned, hard editing?
Some clues come from Casino Royale, the first James Bond novel. Ian Fleming’s original draft was put on show earlier this year to mark the 60th anniversary of the novel’s publication.
It did not spring immaculate from his typewriter. Nor did Fleming have any publishing connections or prior experience in novel writing. Delete the scoop?
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When I sold my first book to Pocket in 2011, it sold in a three-book series. Shortly after that, they requested three e-novellas. I'd never written a novella before, but I jumped at the chance. Here's what I learned about telling an exciting story in 40,000 words or less using my first novella, The Mysterious Madam Morpho, as the example. Delete the scoop?
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Although most word count problems are too manywords, the too-short novel does happen. I've talked before about things to do to bulk up a short novel, but today, let's look at a novel that's not just light on something, but is actually, truly too short. Delete the scoop?
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Find the 5 deal breakers for your characters, and you'll have no problem creating compelling characters for your screenplay. Delete the scoop?
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Why do some novelists and bloggers prefer short, punchy sentences to long, flowing descriptions? Why do some value writing that is direct, succinct, and simple, with little room for misinterpretat... Delete the scoop?
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All authors know that they need to market their books. Many authors also realize that they must also market themselves – i.e. their own brand as an author. But it’s also important to market the cha... Delete the scoop?
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The title is the single most important piece of ad copy-writing you will do for the book; (Good) titles sell books and speeches. So to give your book the immediate edge, we will look at some tips for writing book titles. Delete the scoop?
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Of all the scenes we write, dialogue is the most complex and rich. Most writers I know take several passes to get it right. On average, I find there are seven clear steps to nailing a dialogue scen... Delete the scoop?
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Find out what it takes to craft a story that Hollywood will buy. Learn why concept and structure are critical components of storytelling. Via Laura Brown, Michelle Bishop, Shah Wharton Delete the scoop?
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At author forums, I am often asked what my writing day looks like, or what are my writing practices that have helped me write an historical novel each year. I tell them first about a book, Structu... Delete the scoop?
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In the past, hard-copy-editing would be the end of the line for me. I'd go through a couple of printouts, then publish the ebook version of my book (after designing the cover, of course). I published my first two books to Smashwords and would download copies of both the EPub and Kindle versions to browse through, to ensure I'd gotten the formatting down. But I no longer publish to Smashwords because I got so few sales there and have come to believe that Amazon is my path to better sales. I've recently discovered another beneficial mode of manuscipt editing: editing on my iPad using the Kinle app. Here's why I think self-published authors shouldn't ignore this valuable tool. You should view and edit your work in every form your readers will be exposed to.
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Amazon shocked and impressed the publishing world yet again yesterday with the launch of Kindle Worlds, a self-publishing platform specifically for fan fiction. The company has arranged deals with rights holders for several popular genre series that authors can now use as a jumping off point for creating original work for sale. Delete the scoop?
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Are you tired of buying eBooks that are poorly formatted and designed? A lot of other readers are too. Delete the scoop?
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The most powerful stories have emotional writing, the kind where we dig deep into our own feelings and then put them on the page. Donald encouraged us to move past ‘expected’ character emotions and try for something deeper, more primal. Something unexpected. Delete the scoop?
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It’s often said that the writing of dialog requires reading, not listening to actual conversation. This is because real speech suffers from a variety of pitfalls—pointless digressions, mindless nattering, and the twitchy insertion of um, like, you know, and other verbal tics. Delete the scoop?
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Quotations marks, italics, em dashes, or none of the above: these are a few different ways to punctuate dialogue in your prose. Delete the scoop?
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When I was in my early teens, my mother had a subscription to The Ladies Home Journal. I wasn’t interested in the stories or the recipes, but I was fascinated by the column, Can This Marriage Be Saved? The column had a simple format: first, the wife would relate her grievances in the relationship; then the husband would tell what he felt was wrong with the marriage. Delete the scoop?
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This post is a companion piece, upon request, to yesterday's post about the benefits of a simple style and simple structure in your writing. Now, I love my simple structure and my short sentences. ... Delete the scoop?
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One of the best reasons for using Scrivener to write, edit and complete your book is the functionality it has to compile your work into whichever format you require. As self-published authors we ha... Delete the scoop?
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Every year, we publish daily links to writing tools and tips during the NaNoWriMo challenge in November. We’ve collected the individual posts below–the advice will work all year round. Delete the scoop?
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For better or worse, I have an MBA in corporate financial analysis. That means when I think of royalties earned by an author’s novel, I think Net Present Value (NPV) of future cash flows: your “no Delete the scoop?
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The past is another country, goes the old saying. But what if you’re writing about the past IN another country? Or in two or three other countries? Or using different time frames for different stor... Delete the scoop?
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