Tuesday, January 10, 2012
I’m going to start with the punchline today, and then backtrack to tell you where the information came from (and why it’s interesting). I’ll even explain why I told the story in reverse order. But first, the info. Submission Requirements for the Amazon Imprint 47North If you want to submit a novel for consideration by [...]
Thursday, August 25, 2011
I know I said Tuesday that I’d probably be dropping down to one post a week now that school has started, but that wasn’t a promise. Just my expectation. Besides, today’s isn’t really a post. It’s a quick question (although it could have ramifications for Posts of Thursdays Future). See, my reasoning for cutting back [...]
In yesterday’s article I introduced the concept of sequels in classical scene structure. They act as a kind of transition, a moment of reflection, and (as I said at the end) they provide your protagonist with a critical opportunity to shine. I described the sequel as a progression: It starts with an emotional reaction to [...]
In the fall of 2009, I started a grand experiment. The English department at my alma mater lost their Tech Writing professor at the last minute, and the chair of the department asked me to step in and teach the class for a semester. I agreed, and then scrambled to put together a lesson plan [...]
Friday, February 11, 2011
This week has been a lot of talk about surprises, whether it’s the unexpected catastrophes that derailed both of my meticulously-planned covershoots so far, or the sudden and unfortunate realization a week before a book is supposed to go to press that it has a gaping flaw in one of the most important scenes. It’s [...]
