Monthly Archives: July 2015
Telegraphing vs. Foreshadowing
One of the most common mistakes inexperienced writers make when they write is telegraphing. Telegraphing occurs when the author reveals what is going to happen before it actually happens. It kills the suspense you have worked so hard to create.
You have spent countless hours crafting your plot, creating hazards and traps for your protagonist and putting them in seemingly inescapable situations. Don’t let telegraphing happen to you. Continue reading
Transform Your Heroes for a Stronger Plot
Our heroes are the lifeblood of our stories. They are the engine that makes our plots run. We all rely on dependable transportation. And for that reason, most of us take care to make sure our cars and their engines are diligently cared for and free from flaws. Continue reading
A Spring Day in College Sealed My Fate
It was a bright, clear spring day in New England in 1985. I was a third year pharmacy student at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy on Longwood Avenue. The school is situated in the Fenway section of Boston directly across the street from Harvard Medical School (I mention this because I want you to think that some of that intelligence rubbed off or was in the air and I inhaled large doses of it!) and near Emerson College, the Berklee College of Music and, of course, Fenway Park. I remember it quite clearly because it was day I decided that someday I would be a writer of novels. This epiphany occurred in the school library on the second floor of the main building. Continue reading
Five Things to Remember about Publishing Your Fiction
1. It’s an incredibly subjective industry…
Even number one New York Bestsellers have folks that have read their books and do not like their stories. The key, obviously, is to have more people wanting to read your stories than not. I once read that if you anonymously submitted a John Grisham manuscript to fifty publishing houses, some would love it, some would have a lukewarm reaction and the others would hate it. Continue reading