When I start a new story I write for dialogue and action. I try to keep in mind what the character is sensing and include those nuances as often as I can, but mostly I wait and layer it in during the second draft phase. If done well, using the five senses should be seamless …
Smell the Coffee: How to Use the Five Senses to Improve Your Writing. Read More »
My first foray into writing was a Young Adult novel titled THE WIVES OF LUCIFER, which eventually morphed into New Adult. YA teaches you an important tenet. Teens are impatient. They crave quick results along with action, high stakes, energy, conflict, dialogue. When writing for teens you need to grab them by the throat and …
Once upon a time, in a far-away land, there lived a very sad fairy princess. I’ve accepted the painful truth. I’ve pretty much ruined reading for most of my gal pals. Eventually they bounce back, but each of them has admitted that after listening to me ramble on about the elements of great writing they …
When I began UNSUB, something niggled at me. It’s set in The Hamptons, a well-known playground for the rich and famous. Specifically, the town of East Hampton, generally considered to be the “Best Hampton” (Sorry, Southampton) as opposed to where I used to live, Westhampton, described on the TV show, Royal Pains, as the “Worst Hampton.” Yes, …
When Fifty Shades of Grey crashed into the publishing world, everyone was aghast. On so many levels. Talk shows brought in therapists and psychologists— specialists on sexual abuse and relationships, and quickly labeled it mommy porn. Stuck home with my first broken ankle and nearly dead from boredom, I couldn’t resist the idea of reading something so risqué in …
A writer pal of mine wrote about love archetypes a while back, a concept I’d never thought much about when crafting a love scene, probably because my lovers develop their character traits as I write. Not much of a planner, me. My last post was more of a how-to-get-them-to-fall-in-love deal. In my research I stumbled …
My first foray into writing led me to an uncomfortable place: writing the love scene— and so I decided to do a little research before I made a total fool of myself. Since it was a NA novel, it was tame compared to what I’ve currently written, but I quickly understood that the elements are …
