Serialized fiction: opportunity or fad?

A particular form of story popular in the Victorian era became known as the “penny dreadful,” which tells you pretty much everything you need to know about it. Often these stories, detailing lurid crimes or scandalous activities, were cheaply printed so as to be available for a penny to a mass audience. They weren’t intended to be great literature. (more…)

It is becoming clear that writing a cracking opening chapter is something I have yet to master. You have to engage your reader during the first three pages of your novel. Your opening chapter needs to be kick-ass and a killer first line is essential.

My First Line:  “Lisa Grant struggled to open the rain-swollen front door of her Cotswold-stone cottage, leaning into it with her shoulder like a…

“Okay,” quoth he

That’s extreme, but it’s also an example of today’s subject: choosing the right words for your work.

One of my biggest concerns when I’m editing is “voice.” I work hard to maintain my clients’ “writer’s voice,” because it’s their writing, not mine, that is being published. Part of that work is helping them choose the best words for the purpose. And part of THAT work is, quite often, teaching them…

It seems appropriate that on a Monday morning, the “beginning” of the work week, my thoughts turn to the beginnings of a novel. Part of the reason stems from a discussion in my critique group yesterday and part from a discussion LinkedIn thought I would be interested in. Anyway. . . .

Let’s face it, the start of a novel will determine whether or not someone continues reading your book or tosses…