Readers choose a story because they think it will hold their interest, so why do they sometimes skim or stop reading the story? There’s probably a variety of reasons, but I’ve noticed a few trends in comments in my critique group and from my own reading habits that may offer some insight. 1. Long, elegant…
I had a pretty unusual day. School was delayed on account of the too-far-below-zero temperatures, and since I work in a school, so was work. I had time to run errands before work, and afterwards I decided to have lunch at a full-service restaurant by myself (note to fellow introverts: do this! It rocks!) and go sweater shopping before…
Last week, I tweeted my blog post about stereotyping characters with the #MondayBlogs hashtag. The user in the pic loved it, retweeted it, and had some questions for me. This is part of the conversation that occurred. I’ve been thinking about the last question ever since. Is defying expectations the key to a good story?…
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…
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…
Allison Maruska 