You can learn a lot about your story characters from the knickknacks in their house. Consider this topic when enhancing characterization in fiction writing. As we are attempting to declutter our shelves, I’m wondering why I collected so many souvenir drinking glasses, paperweights, candles and rocks. Yes, rocks. There’s also my wonky pen collection, a … Read more
Revisions for our novels should include a complete read-through for repetitions and inconsistencies. What do we mean by the latter? You’ll want to take a look at your characters to see if they are behaving in a manner consistent with their personality. As a writer, this should be an essential part of your self-editing process. … Read more
Plotting a story can take weeks, especially a mystery with its varied suspects and convoluted plot twists. Once I’ve devised the crime scene, the victim, and the cause involved, I turn to my list of suspects. Here is where I delve more deeply into their psyches. This means working on character development sheets for each person … Read more
Characters Too Weird To Be True by Nancy J. Cohen “Florida is a giant bug light for crazy people.” ~Phyllis Smallman, Sleuthfest 2014 It’s no surprise to any author living in Florida that some of the craziest stories we can write are actually inspired by true events in our sunshine state. Join us in exploring … Read more
Have you ever thought about writing a military hero into your story? If so, be sure to get your facts and lingo straight. At a recent Florida Romance Writers meeting, we had the good fortune to have as guest speaker a Navy Captain and the brother of one of our members. Let’s call him Captain … Read more
How can you make your characters sound stronger when they speak? Think of the ways authoritative people talk in terms of their word choices and tone of voice. Choose one of each: 1.A. “I think we should hit the beach at dawn. That way, we’ll probably be able to avoid the patrol boats.” B. “We’ll … Read more