Welcome to Part 3 of my contribution to Eclecticali’s Masquerade blog party. This might be it. But I’m not sure. If you missed Parts 1 and 2, you might want to start there. The Presence James re-entered the hallway, baffled. Something had pulled Taliana into the library, but the room was empty and dark, neglected on what…
Welcome to Part 2 of what is becoming a multi-part series of stories for Eclecticali’s Masquerade Ball blog party. Click here to read Part 1, if you missed it. The Pursuit James followed Taliana back into the foyer. She moved quickly, almost jogging, the click of her heels echoing through the space. She seemed to…
The following is my contribution to Eclecticali’s Masquerade Ball blog party. I confess; I’ve been terribly confused about the whole thing. But Allison (Eclecticali’s actual name – I’m not referring to myself. I’m not that weird) assured me that I couldn’t mess it up, so here goes. It’s the first part of a longer story.…
A couple weeks back, I wrote a post about dialogue, in which I listed some shoulds and should nots in writing dialogue. If you missed it, you might want to click on the link and get caught up. Go ahead. I’ll wait here. *munches popcorn* Two points I didn’t address in that already-long post were tension…
Dialogue is one of my favorite elements of fiction. While it seems to only show two characters shooting the breeze or arguing, it really does so much more than that. It moves the overall story forward. It reveals character. It provides action within a scene. It quickens the pace of the narrative. It provides tension and…
I’m writing on this topic because it’s a real question of mine, and I feel like I’ve been running in circles with it. Maybe thinking about it in type will bring me to some kind of conclusion. There are a few rules about novel openings that seem standard: don’t open with a character waking up/with…
Originally posted on Allison Maruska:
I’ve learned something since I started this writing adventure: there are two very distinct types of fiction, and readers and writers are divided into one of these groups, whether they know it or not. Maybe they’re not 100% camped out on one side, but they definitely lean one way or…
Did anyone else imagine a general guy holding a sword in the air and yelling, “To pants!” with that title? He’s probably in his undies, because why else go to pants? Sorry. It’s 4:30 AM. I’ll try to stay on task. *snicker*. To pants. That’s funny. I know it doesn’t seem like it, but this…
This week is Banned Books Week, a week to contemplate the various works of literature that for whatever reason have historically been deemed too dangerous for public consumption. Where the Wild Things Are, The Diary of a Young Girl, and The Old Man and The Sea are among them. The one that surprised me the…
Think about a fiction book you’re reading. Tell me: what do you think about the main character? And how much information about that person did you have before forming that opinion? What qualities did you use? Gender? Age? Race? Appearance? Stereotyping occurs when we make assumptions about people based on the groups to which they belong. We…
Allison Maruska 