The Redemptive Arc, by David Corbett
From: http://writerunboxed.com/2015/12/08/the-redemptive-arc December 8, 2015 It’s the holiday season, which means it’s time to talk about my three favorite elves: Shame, Guilt, and Ho-Ho-Hope. Those of you who follow this blog daily probably have gathered already that I’m going to follow up on two recent thought-provoking posts, one by Tom Bentley (“Shatter Your Characters”) on using shame and guilt to deepen characterization, the other by Donald Maass (“The Current”) on the implicit… Read More
The 5 C’s of Writing a Great Thriller Novel, by James Scott Bell
From: http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/the-5-cs-of-writing-a-great-thriller-novel May 6, 2014, reposted December 28, 2015 Remember when Tommy Lee Jones holds up the empty shackles in The Fugitive and says, “You know, we’re always fascinated when we find leg irons with no legs in ’em”? It makes me think of readers who pick up thrillers and find no thrills in them. Or at least not as many as there could be. I’m not just talking about plot here…. Read More
Filling the Silence, by Donald Maass
From: http://writerunboxed.com/2016/02/03/filling-the-silence February 3, 2016 Is there anything worse than an awkward silence? Actually, there is. Its silence filled by the tedious ramblings of a bore. The first situation makes you want to kill yourself. The second makes you want to kill someone else. What is it that makes the drivel spoken by a bore so boring? It lacks all interest, for you anyway and maybe even for the bore. After… Read More
7 Ways to Create a Killer Opening Line For Your Novel, by Brian Klems, Jacob Appel
From: http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/7-ways-to-create-a-killer-opening-line-for-your-novel January 9, 2014 Writing the first line to your book is an incredibly daunting task. This is your first opportunity to hook readers in. I remember writing and rewriting the opening line to my humor book OH BOY, YOU’RE HAVING A GIRL over and over again until I finally felt like I nailed it with this: “If you’re a guy and you’ve opened this book, you either have a daughter,… Read More