Thomas Cullen writes, "the brains of skilled writers are wired over many years to mimic the rhythms, structures, patterns and prose of their favorite authors.”   We can learn lovely rhythms by reading famous fiction passages.   And: how to overcome the possible grind of writing the middle of the novel.

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Do we have what it takes to write a novel?  Here are six questions we can ask ourselves that'll shed light on the issue.  Also, when should a writer make an exception to a tried-and-true rule of writing?

Here is a 20-episode master class on fiction writing—a start-to-finish course covering plot, characters, dialogue, scenes, sentence-level craft, and much more.  Each episode is focused and about 30 minutes.  The full class—all 20 episodes—is available now for a one-time price of forty-nine dollars.  If you want structured, concise guidance, click the Buy the Master Class link in the show notes to get started.

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Here are ten smaller techniques that'll improve our story, each maybe not big enough for a full segment but worthwhile to help make our story gripping and our sentences shine.  Also, here are thoughts about our story's ending; isn't HEA (happily-ever-after) a formula and cliche?  And: how to show rather than tell about the weather. 

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What do Elizabeth Bennett, Anne Shirley, Frodo Baggins, Jo March, Harry Potter, and Huckleberry Finn have in common?  Readers love them.  We can create such a character, one readers will long remember and maybe reread the storyl just to be with the character again.  Also, adverbs and adjectives can weaken sentences.  Here is why and how to avoid them.

Here is a 20-episode master class on fiction writing—a start-to-finish course covering plot, characters, dialogue, scenes, sentence-level craft, and much more.  Each episode is focused and about 30 minutes.  The full class—all 20 episodes—is available now for a one-time price of forty-nine dollars.  If you want structured, concise guidance, click the Buy the Master Class link in the show notes to get started.

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We writers can train ourselves to peel the onion: to look more deeply at places and people, and so set forth our discoveries in lovely language in our stories.  Here's how the masters do it.  Also, F. Scott Fitzgerald's "action is character" is a strong technique for revealing our characters' personalities to readers, and I talk about "action is character" here.

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Readers love dialogue.  It's as if they are part of the scene, sitting there and listening to our characters argue or romance each other or plan something important.  Here are additional techniques to grip readers with our dialogue.  Also: V.S. Naipaul's rules of writing.

Here is a 20-episode master class on fiction writing—a start-to-finish course covering plot, characters, dialogue, scenes, sentence-level craft, and much more.  Each episode is focused and about 30 minutes.  The full class—all 20 episodes—is available now for a one-time price of forty-nine dollars.  If you want structured, concise guidance, click the Buy the Master Class link in the show notes to get started.

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Dialogue is like a Snickers candy bar: it's good.  Here are eight techniques for making conversations in our story engage the reader, things we should do and things we should avoid.  Also, how did Sue Monk Kidd handle her first rejection?  And Meg Cabot on how to keep going so we finish our story.

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The shark.  Dracula.  Draco Malfoy.  Cathy Ames.  Annie Wilkes,  Hannibal Lecter.  Jadis the White Witch.  Aren't these villains masterful creations, and don't they keep readers glued to the story?  Here are ideas on how we can create wonderful--is that the right word?--villains.  Also, we can keep our first-person narrator from being off-puttingly self-referential.

Here is a 20-episode master class on fiction writing—a start-to-finish course covering plot, characters, dialogue, scenes, sentence-level craft, and much more.  Each episode is focused and about 30 minutes.  The full class—all 20 episodes—is available now for a one-time price of forty-nine dollars.  If you want structured, concise guidance, click the Buy the Master Class link in the show notes to get started.

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Every element of our story should add interest, including the settings.  What if--because of the plot or characters--we must place a scene in an otherwise dull place?  We can juice it up.  We can make it lively and fascinating.  Here is how the masters do it.  

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Every element in our story should contribute to entertaining the reader including our settings.  We can replace our dull settings with fascinating locations, and here's how to do it.  Also: what's wrong with this sentence?  Running along the street, the purse bounced against her leg.  It's a funny dangling modifier.  Funny if it doesn't appear in our story.  Here are thoughts on dangling modifiers, and how to avoid them.  Plus, the rule of exceptions.  

Here is a 20-episode master class on fiction writing—a start-to-finish course covering plot, characters, dialogue, scenes, sentence-level craft, and much more.  Each episode is focused and about 30 minutes.  The full class—all 20 episodes—is available now for a one-time price of forty-nine dollars.  If you want structured, concise guidance, click the Buy the Master Class link in the show notes to get started.

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Almost all successful fiction writers are close observers.  We can teach ourselves to be close observers, and use those observations in our characters and settings.  And here are examples of close observations from the masters, those small details that bring their stories to vivid life.

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