Keep readers firmly inside your character’s head.
The novel’s opening chapter reminded me of the car commercial that promotes its lane-departure warning system. If the car drifts across the center line, it sounds a loud alert.
This prospective author could have used something similar for his novel’s point of view. Unknowingly, he kept drifting from his main character’s awareness.
In a scene with Miriam … Continue reading
Readers expect you’ll get your facts straight.
Writing fiction? Unless it’s science fiction or fantasy, don’t think you can make up everything.
No mater how exotic your setting, readers expect you’ll not only set the scene with vivid details, but also that you’ll get those details right. When my wife recently read a novel that had someone in Denver drive south on a street … Continue reading
Readers don’t always need specific descriptions.
by Andy Scheer
In my most recent fiction critique, I told the author he sometimes provided descriptions that were too detailed.
What was wrong with them? They provided information a reader could supply on her own.
Unlike films, books have the opportunity to enlist readers as an active participant. Authors offer enough to trigger a reader’s imagination, and she fills in … Continue reading