June 2014 archive

Emergency Kit Essential: Books on Paper

It’s May 28th around 9:30 in the morning.  I’m guessing about the time because every clock in the house is off due to a power outage, and my watch is too far away to bother with.  As I sit listening to the hum of my neighbor’s generator, I think about my other emergency kit.  Not …

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Pace

With the possible exception of cookbooks, dictionaries and encyclopedias, everything written has some sort of pace to it. From greeting cards to poems to speeches, each piece opens, gives a few high points and then comes to a conclusion. When done correctly, the reader takes no notice of pace. Getting a suspense novel to the …

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Suspense

Suspense! That’s what brings readers back again and again. If you want your readers to keep reading, you have to give them a reason to go to the next paragraph, turn the page or come back a month later. That’s why I ended my blog last month the way I did. What did happen to …

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Mental images: zombies and coffee

Good, strong writing is found all in the presentation.  Consider the images that come to your mind when you read the following sentence: She was a zombie in need of more K-Cups. So, what does that refer to? Right now, you may be floundering and drowning in a sea of possibilities.  You need context to …

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What Happens in Vegas, Doesn’t Have to Stay in Vegas

Timing is interesting. Just before our meeting at Barnes and Noble was to begin, my writers’ group was interrupted by an adorable boy who was obviously young enough to be an elementary school student, maybe about seven years old. He held his arms straight down at his sides as he stood tall and still, almost …

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