This will surprise some writers in my critique group, but I’ve been on the fence about writing on this topic. I’m such a POV (point of view, in case anyone’s lost) stickler that this should be a piece of cake. I’ve had writers in the group see my crits and ask me to crit their…
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…
It’s a widely debated issue, I’ve learned. How much are readers willing to pay for a book? There doesn’t seem to be a solid answer, though there are trends. Popular books or books by popular authors generally cost more. Ebooks tend to be cheaper than the physical thing. The Bible is the most stolen book on…
I recently had the honor of guest posting for fellow author Jodie Llewellyn. The topic was what makes a great antagonist (see the post here). Today I want to broaden the scope. What makes a character – protag, antag, or secondary – interesting? Someone in my critique group started a forum thread by asking what to do…
Don’t worry. I recognize the irony of the title. Non-readers aren’t likely to read a blog post unless there are lots of pictures (like the buzzfeed variety). Really, this post is for readers to nod to in agreement as they read it, and maybe, just maybe, a reader will convince a non-reader to learn a…
I know it’s only June, but my family and I have been talking about Halloween. It’s kind of a big deal. See, we participate in an event our church hosts every year called Trunk-or-Treat. I’m sure you’ve heard of similar events. The idea is to decorate your car trunk and presumably dress up to match…
When I was in sixth grade, my classmates and I learned all about melodramas, those stories where an obvious hero saves an obvious damsel in distress from an obvious cackling, mustache-twisting villain. I remember having to create melodramas, which is funny to ponder now as an adult, knowing twelve-year-olds don’t need help creating drama. Maybe…
Two nights ago, I finished writing the third book in a series that took me six months in total to write. I don’t freaking know what to do with myself after spending basically every free moment during that time writing. Sure, there’s still the whole revising/editing/getting feedback from beta readers going on, but aside from…
Allison Maruska 