Day by day, working and learning.
Almost anybody who’s done a lot of reading can give you an example of an opening that hooked them right away, and we all know how important it is to grab a reader’s attention right off the bat. But what is it that makes a strong opening? In my opinion, a great opening needs to …
I received an ARC of this book for free. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. When Caroline Giammanco got a job teaching in a maximum-security prison, she wasn’t sure what to expect. She thought it might be unsafe, unpleasant, intimidating – but she anticipated that this would come from the inmates she taught, …
The internet is packed full of methods guaranteed to get you an outline of your exciting new story idea, and I reckon I must have tried almost all of them in trying to get my current story up and running. On the spectrum of plotter to pantser I am firmly on the plotting end; before …
Continue reading "From Idea to Outline: My Three Steps to Story Planning"
“War doesn't determine who's right. War determines who remains.” ― R.F. Kuang, The Poppy War War orphan Rin has grown up working for the Fangs, overworked and underappreciated. But when they decide to marry her off to an old man to make their opium smuggling easier she realises she has to take drastic action to maintain any …
The main character of a story can make or break its appeal to a reader. How many books have you read that you couldn’t fully get into because the main character was irritating or poorly developed? When you’re reading a book you experience the world, to at least some extent, through the eyes of the …
Continue reading "What Makes A Good Character? 5 Things That Make The Difference"
Clementine "Q" Toledano has a lot going on. She's trying to avoid a club owner she can't help falling into bed with, keep control of her band while the trumpet player fights her for it and, simultaneously, work out how to get her best friend out of trouble with a dangerous Greek mobster. Again. When …
The main character. The centre of your story (probably), your favourite character (maybe) and the person your readers will almost certainly spend the most time with. You’ve worked out what it is that they want to achieve or obtain by the end of your story, and you’re getting ready to put them through hell on …
Continue reading "Let’s Be Friends! Getting to Know Your Main Character"
This review contains no spoilers. Frances performs poetry with her ex-girlfriend, now best friend, Bobbi. When they meet Melissa and Nick, a glamorous and successful older couple, the emotionally distant Frances is surprised by her own reaction. Intrigued by, and then drawn to, Nick, Frances has to actually face her feelings and insecurities head-on. I …
It’s as frustrating as it is inevitable: sometimes you’re going to sit down in front of your laptop or notebook and the words just will not come. Writer’s block means different things to different people. For some, writer’s block is a very short-term inability to come up with the next words, resolved in a few …
This review is spoiler free so, whether you've read the book or not, enjoy! Everyone knows the world is going to end. Again.Nobody expects it to happen during their lifetime.But here it is. The Fifth Season is the first of a trilogy by N. K. Jemisin, set in a world where people are in a …
