Editor
Beginning authors often bloat up their stories with scenes that they don’t need and that readers don’t enjoy, a problem that’s usually fatal if it occurs anywhere near the opening chapters. It’s not uncommon, when working as a developmental editor, for me to suggest cutting one or more scenes. I ask four questions about each [ ] The post How to Know If You Should Delete a Scene appeared first on…
Scenes are the building blocks of novels, memoirs, and other types of narrative nonfiction. They’re like stories unto themselves. They have a beginning, a middle, and an end. They’re where things happen in real time in a specific place, where characters interact with each other, and where the larger story advances. This may seem obvious [ ] The post How to Structure a Scene appeared first on…
Most people who want to be writers never write a book. A huge number of professional writers, including those who make their living from writing, never write one. It’s so much work, and so much easier to stick to articles, short stories, and blog posts. Writing and polishing a book generally requires hundreds of hours [ ] The post Writing a Book Is Like Eating an Elephant appeared first on Michael…
Okay, let’s say you’ve nailed your first sentence. You start with some kind of disturbance or tension or conflict or a question. Now what? What does the rest of the first page look like? There is no formula, no single correct way to proceed. I can tell you how not to proceed, but if you’re [ ] The post How to Write a Killer First Page appeared first on Michael J. Totten .
I’m about to tell you one of the most important things you’ll ever learn as a writer: Agents, acquisitions editors, and magazine editors can determine (with greater than 90 percent accuracy) if a manuscript was written by a seasoned professional, a semiprofessional, or an amateur after reading as little as the first sentence and at [ ] The post How to Write a Killer First Sentence appeared first…