When we write, we send a story on a journey from our mind to the reader’s. In Understanding Comics, Scott McCloud defines mastery in comics as the percentage of the artist’s original ideas that survive the journey to the reader’s mind. [1] Although we write without pictures, novelists are still sending images, via the written […]
As writers, we obsess over chapter endings for good reason. The best ones hook readers for another few minutes, or hours. Not so good and it’s lights-off-for-bedtime. We love a good chapter ending when we read it, but recognizing one and writing one are mysteriously different. “We know we need to craft good chapter endings […]
It takes a certain amount of gumption to create a world from scratch, especially when there’s magic involved. All the details to consider – How will it work? What are the limits of the magic? Who knows about it? What do they do with their new with their magic? Then, there’s the whole explaining-it-to-the-reader challenge. […]
n There’s been talk lately about whether children’s books should tackle hard subjects. This one’s a no-brainer for me. They should. Kids read for truth and their world is not the cheery candy-colored confection adults strive so mightily to create. They should be given hope, yes. But hope without reality is about as satisfying as […]
In the middle of The Thief, Megan Whalen Turner crafted an intense, high-action page-turner of a scene. But there’s no fight, no adversaries, and no great stand-off. Just a single character, Gen, our protagonist and thief, in a cave. Why does it work? Pacing, sensory details, verbs and sentence structure build and release tension. Detailed, […]
I’ve been thinking a lot about beginnings – what captures us quickly and draws us into the center of story? We’re told to start with action, bring the reader into the scene, and keep it moving. That’s important advice, keeping us from lingering in backstory, setting the scene for too long, or wandering until we […]
If there were Ten Commandments of writing for children, the main character shall change by the end of the story would be among them. Jumped, by Rita Williams-Garcia breaks the rule. I would argue that the main character does change, but she’s not the obvious character. Most of the story takes place in a day […]