by mike | Nov 16, 2017 | Books, Editing, Humor, Publishing, Uncategorized, Writing |
Many folks—especially writers—love reading these deliberately bad opening lines. I first presented this post in 2013. I suppose I’m fascinated, if not obsessed, with the bad opening lines that have been submitted to the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest over the past...
by mike | Nov 9, 2017 | Books, Editing, Holocaust, Psychological Thrillers, Publishing, Thrillers, Uncategorized, Writing |
Transitioning from one scene to the next in a novel is important enough to warrant a second post. I first presented this in 2013. In my last post I promised to share some more transitions from my novel, FREEDOM’S HAND, to show how this necessary device can strengthen...
by mike | Nov 6, 2017 | Books, Editing, Publishing, Sword & Sorcery, Uncategorized, Writers' Conferences, Writing |
It’s novel-writing month or some such thing again, so I’m going to post my annual rebuttal on the matter, as I will likely do for a long time to come. Okay, this week I’m going to be a curmudgeon—something that I do quite well, actually. There are...
by mike | Nov 2, 2017 | Books, Editing, Holocaust, Psychological Thrillers, Thrillers, Uncategorized, Writing |
Transitions can make or break a narrative. I first presented this post in 2013, and it will be just as relevant in 2023. As a writing coach for two centuries or more I have read a lot of transitions from one POV to another, one scene to another, even one past era to a...
by mike | Oct 23, 2017 | Books, California, Ghosts, Horror, Horror Movies, Native Americans, Uncategorized, Writing |
With Halloween nearly upon us, I’d like to share a creepy scene from The Burning Ground, one of my four horror novels. This is the final scene in chapter one, which takes place in 1849. (The balance of the story is contemporary.) The setup: gold has been discovered in...
by mike | Oct 19, 2017 | Books, Editing, Publishing, Uncategorized, Writing |
With regard to novelists, I’ve written a great deal about listening to the voices of experience when it comes to a writing coach/editor. I shared the following post in 2013 and figured it would be just as relevant today. VINCENT WHO? I received a totally unexpected...
