Have you ever thought about a book or a movie that you really liked, and why you liked it? Maybe the characters drew you to them and held your attention until they reached their goal. Maybe the setting just absolutely fascinated you. Or maybe you enjoyed the book or movie because there was so much going on and you had to weave your way through it all to find and enjoy the ending.
The really good books and really good movies have more than the main plot line to follow. They usually have at least one subplot line, often several.
To learn more about subplots, I have added my article on Subplots: How and When to Use Them to the Writing Tips on this blog and to my Writing Tools on my website.
Tags: Definitions, process, Writing Tips
Do you ever stumble over which is the correct word or correct spelling of a word to use? Do you mean “affect” or “effect”? That is a particular word choice that I have to think about every time. I also stumble over is it “farther” or “further”?
There are a lot of confusing words. You can always refer to the thesaurus on your computer or a dictionary. I keep a quick referral list in my notebook for easy writing helps that is always with me at my desk.
I have added my list of Confusing Words & Their Usage to the Writing Tips on this blog and to my Writing Tools on my website.
Tags: Definitions, word choices, Writing Tips
This is a fast paced world we live in. We want our news delivered quickly. We want bulleted information instead of sifting through paragraphs upon paragraphs to find what we really wanted all along.
We want to be pulled into a book on the first page, maybe even the first paragraph. And we definitely don’t want to find a potentially good storyline bogged down by conversational chitchat. As with so many other techniques and skills a writer needs to master, learning how to write dialogue is very important.
I’m one of those fortunate writers that don’t have trouble writing dialogue. My people speak to me in my head and their conversations flow easily to my fingertips and keyboard. They don’t tend to bog my mind down with a lot of narrative descriptions. Sometimes I wish they fed me a little more of that, but I can add that stuff in when I’m doing revisions. But many writers struggle with understanding how naturally flowing dialogue should work.
I have added my thoughts on Dialogue: Bringing Characters to Life to the Writing Tips on this blog and to my Writing Tools on my website.
Tags: Definitions, Dialogue, process, Writing Tips
Are you writing about cowboys? Or ever read a Western (historical or contemporary) and wondered what some of the terminology or descriptions meant?
My latest article on Building A Cowboy Story World offers some great links to websites that can help you both understand and write about cowboys. For writers, this goes along with doing research in the particular sub-genre you are writing. It is important to understand what you are talking about. If you don’t have first-hand knowledge or experience with ranching, I hope these websites will be helpful in building your cowboy story’s world.
I have added my list of links for Building a Cowboy Story World to the Writing Tips on this blog and to my Writing Tools on my website.
Tags: Definitions, Writing Tips
What we experience in the world around us by using our five senses affects how we perceive things.
For your reader to be drawn into the world of your character, you need to use sensory details. But use them wisely. Every word in a manuscript counts, so descriptions need to be precise and something that a reader can easily identify with.
As always, I have added a summary article on Using Sensory Details to my Writing Tips here on the blog and to the Writing Tools section of my website.
Tags: Definitions, process, Senses, Writing Tips
