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Another textbook? Why not? There’s still plenty of good stuff worth learning, and I couldn’t cram it all into the first three. Naked Notes! is now available at Amazon. Do a writer friend of yours a HUGE favor, order a signed copy from me!
Now Available!
Greeley is now available for Kindle e-readers and in paperback. Don’t miss this fantastic collection of linked tales of the old and new West. Autographed copies make great gifts, by the way. Contact me if you’d like one.
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Tag Archives: suspense
Model Homes, a Not-So-Short Story — Part 2
Last week, we left our intrepid dollhouse hunter next to a barn at ground zero of nowhere. Her presence had just been discovered by the man she’d been following, a man she suspects of holding tiny humans captive. (You can … Continue reading
Posted in short fiction, Writing
Tagged aliens, dollhouse, dolls, fantasy, humor, little people, miniature, science fiction, SF, space, suspense
8 Comments
Model Homes, a Not-So-Short Story — Part 1
For some reason, I have a soft spot for stories about people who aren’t quite as big as me. I’m a six-footer, so there are quite a few folks who meet that definition. Here’s a story about some more. Herewith, … Continue reading
Posted in short fiction, Writing
Tagged aliens, dollhouse, dolls, fantasy, humor, little people, miniature, science fiction, SF, space, suspense
8 Comments
Character Emotions — Part Four
Before I launch into the next emotion on the agenda, I want to pass along a link to a website which provides an interesting look at emotions. Click Here! It provides a good discussion of Plutchik’s Wheel, a tool used to … Continue reading
Posted in Historical writing, Memoir, novel writing, Writing
Tagged action, anger, angst, anxiety, capturing emotion, dark fiction, drama, emotion, fear, Fiction, horror, Plutchik, restaurant, sou chef, suspense
7 Comments
From Short Story to Novel–Part Two
The story of Scott and Daphne, plus assorted lizards, faires, and other odd creatures continues. If you missed part one, you probably ought to go back and read it now. Here’s your handy-dandy link: Click Here! In case you forgot … Continue reading
Posted in editing, novel writing, Writing
Tagged cable TV, creative writing, elves, fairy, fantasy, flash fiction, humor, novel writing, novelette, novella, short fiction, short novel, short story, suspense, TV, TV show, unicorn, Writing
11 Comments
Story as striptease
Despite being opposites–stories are additive; striptease is subtractive–one can still draw parallels. An ecdysiast (look it up) teases her (or his) audience by making them wonder how much farther she/he will go. Successful genre fiction does much the same thing, … Continue reading
Posted in editing, novel writing, Writing
Tagged 24, action, adventure, cliff hanger, ecdysiast, planning, plotting, puppy, storytelling, stripper, striptease, suspense, toddler, traffic
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Ya gotta have heart
Though clichéd, it’s true that the building blocks of a good novel are the scenes. I imagine if one looked hard enough it would be possible to find a novel with neither scene nor chapter breaks, but it would definitely … Continue reading
Posted in editing, novel writing, Writing
Tagged cliffhanger, danger, doubt, fear, Fiction, girl scout, jeopardy, leader, novel, politician, questions, scene building, suspense, tension
2 Comments
Tension: We’ll be right back, after this…
Tension is (or should be) a writer’s stock in trade. It’s what causes readers to stay up late to “finish just one more” page, scene, chapter, part, or volume of your epic–be it fiction or something else. Tension is shorthand for … Continue reading
Posted in Memoir, Writing
Tagged building tension, memoir, non-fiction, nude men, suspense, techniques, tension
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