by Jacob Mohr |
We’ve talked in the past about two writing techniques that publishers and literary agents hate: head-hopping and the cinematic viewpoint. Head-hopping is jarring and confusing, while cinematic perspective creates too much emotional distance between your characters and...
by Tom Corson-Knowles |
Many writers after submitting a manuscript for publishing consideration ask us this simple question: “Why did my book get rejected?” There are two ways you can answer this question: either you, the author, made some mistakes with your manuscript, or the...
by Jacob Mohr |
We’ve said it before—the soul of any story is conflict. Your hero has a dream, but something’s standing in her way. Maybe it’s a mountain. Maybe it’s a debt. Maybe it’s self-doubt or self-loathing or just plain old fear of the unknown. But no matter the source, the...
by Jacob Mohr
Books are magical things, aren’t they? Novels don’t have the visual components of television or film to tell their stories, but reading a well-written book can be just as immersive an experience, transporting you away from your daily life in the turn of a page. Think...
by Jacob Mohr
Consider the following… You’re writing your debut novel. It’s a touching coming-of-age story about a brooding and soulful young man whose life is utterly ordinary. He leads a sheltered, colorless existence, living in his head—and bored out of his mind. Oh, if...
by Jacob Mohr |
Who’s telling your story? That’s the first question readers ask when they begin reading your book—and it should be the first question you ask yourself when you begin writing it. Whether your story has a first-person narrator or takes a third-person “over-the-shoulder”...
