by Zoe M. McCarthy | Jul 30, 2015 | Writing
“What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure.” — Samuel JohnsonFirst, consider these two cautions in using the find and replace feature of your word processor for editing: Look at each occurrence from the search results to make sure...
by Zoe M. McCarthy | Apr 16, 2015 | Writing
“The glory of the protagonist is always paid for by a lot of secondary characters.” —Tony Hoagland Most fiction writers have heard that the purpose of secondary characters is to support a main character. One of their jobs is to help flesh out a main character’s...
by Zoe M. McCarthy | Apr 9, 2015 | Writing
“Coincidence cannot replace motivation.” — Debra Dixon I’ve been reading Debra Dixon’s GMC: Goal, Motivation, and Conflict. Her discussion about coincidences spoke to me. I wanted a scene between my hero and his widowed sister-in-law, the heroine, concerning an ugly...
by Zoe M. McCarthy | Mar 26, 2015 | Writing
Don’t you like characters in novels to come across so real you look them up in an online directory? My guest today, Marian P. Merritt, gives pointers to do just that. After you’ve collected her tips, be sure to learn more about her new novel, The...
by Zoe M. McCarthy | Feb 5, 2015 | Writing
“I never leave a sentence or paragraph until I’m satisfied with it.” —Clifford Geertz Have you reread paragraphs to understand what they said? Most authors write confusing paragraphs in their drafts. If left in books, these paragraphs cause readers to shift into...
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