Your first line is the opening of your story. The reader’s introduction to, essentially, these hours and hours of work which you have completed. The big hook. The main chance you have of drawing your reader’s attention… Would you rather have a so-so first line? Or a first line that makes your reader want to […]
Deep POV
Lesson #63: Strengthening Your Voice
There are two “types” of voices in a story. The author’s voice and the narrator’s voice. In this lesson, we’ll give you some tips on how to strengthen BOTH types of voices. First, let’s define “voice.” (After all, it’s essential to understand voice before you can strengthen it!) I have a best friend. Let’s […]
Lesson #69: Tips for Writing Real Characters
For more on characters, take a look at Lessons 1, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 53, 65, 66, 67, and 68. Tips for Writing Real Characters What is your character’s personality? What is he/she inclined to do? What are his/her likes and dislikes? What are his/her habits? Take this information and study other […]
Lesson #99 – Dialogue: Beats and Tags
Dialogue is one of my favorite parts of fiction writing. Good dialogue can make a story come to life. Bad dialogue does the opposite. And no one wants their story to die a horrible death. So let’s talk about one of the ways to make your dialogue flow without readers skimming. But guess what? It’s […]
Lesson #119 – NARRATION: Author Intrusion
Lesson #119 – NARRATION: Author Intrusion Author Intrusion is something we talk about in writing and editing circles as a no-no. But yes, there are instances when it’s been done in a satirical and humorous way and it works well. (For example, in The Princess Bride – the book, author intrusion is done brilliantly.) For […]
Lesson 120: Pros and Cons of Omniscient Narrators
Your primary objective as a writer is to make readers care about make-believe people. The narrator telling a story will either bring readers closer or distance them from main characters. There are multiple options for choosing how to narrate your story including but not limited to First Person, Third Person, Limited, and Omniscient. In VERY […]
Lesson #121: Narration – Third Person and First Person (Fitting Both Author and Character)
One of the most obvious distinctions between narrative styles is the difference between third and first person (also, past and present tense – but for now, we’ll just stick with discussing first and third person). For those who need a refresher: Third person uses pronouns such as she/her and he/his. First person uses pronouns such […]
Lesson #122: Exercises for Narration
Lesson #118: Pick up whatever book you are reading (fiction). Go back to the beginning and make note of who the narrator is. Chose another character in the story, and try to write it from his or her eyes. Does it work as well? Why do you think the author chose the narrator they did? […]