What Really Makes a Novel Good? (Part I)

posted in: Writing Craft 2

It’s a dark and stormy night. The electricity is off, so, TV-less, you and your Significant Other are in bed reading by clip-on battery lights. After a brief while, he/she slams down the book and says, “This book stinks. I’m going to bed.” S.O. turns off the light, pulls up the covers, and before long, you hear snoring. You, on the other hand, have hit a Golden One. You can’t put it down! You devour that book, losing track of … Read More »

Writing a Very Short Story

What story is really worth writing? Worth spending your time, energy, and imagination on? I like what Susan Sontag says, “The only story that seems worth writing is a cry, a shot, a scream. A story should break the reader’s heart.” Whenever I read that—it’s on a slip of paper tacked on corkboard above my desk—what comes to mind is flash fiction. It’s bite-size insight. It’s sudden. It surprises. What’s Flash Fiction? Whatever you call a brief prose story, it … Read More »

What an Editor Won’t Do: The Myth of the Magical Editor

All I have to do is get the story out, the editor will fix the rest, right? Too many times I’ve run across writers who think they don’t need to worry about what they consider “the small stuff” because someone else will take care of it. It’s like the editor is a magical fairy sprinkling pixie dust on your story and poof! It’s the perfect book. If you are one of those people, you might want to sit down before … Read More »

Who Made the RPLA Finals?

Drum roll! The scores are in, and the finalists have been named for the 2019 Royal Palm Literary Awards competition. Winners will be announced at the Awards Banquet October 19, 2019, which is held during the annual Florida Writers Conference that runs from October 17-20. The banquet is a big deal, with winners’ pictures flashed on giant screens and all kinds of fanfare. If you’re registered for the whole conference or just for Saturday,  the banquet is included. You may … Read More »

The Importance of Habit

Establishing a habit as a writer can be tremendously freeing. It allows writers to settle in and let the words flow for whatever time is available to them. But like all else in the world, there’s a good thing and a good thing gone too far. Which is which in the process of writing? Why Establishing a Writing Habit Is Important Establishing a habit related to writing gets words on the page consistently. It benefits the writer’s identification of self. … Read More »

“Ignore the Naysayers” RPLA Showcase: Lara Lazenby

Some people are completely unhelpful in a writer’s journey. You know the type—the ones who say you can’t do something or that your writing doesn’t have an audience. Lara Lazenby has certainly faced her share of naysayers. People told her she couldn’t write a book about a child with cancer because no one would read it. After beating cancer four times herself, Lara refused to let anything hold her back anymore. After writing on and off for nine years, she … Read More »

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