by Zoe M. McCarthy | Dec 10, 2015 | Writing
“Avoid on-the-nose writing.” —Jerry JenkinsHere’s a passage from a book published in the 20’s: The Marriage of Barry Wicklow by Ruby M. Ayres. It contains 7 problems that bog the story for today’s reader. I’ve superscripted instances with the problem...
by Zoe M. McCarthy | Dec 3, 2015 | Writing
“A bee is never as busy as it seems; it’s just that it can’t buzz any slower.” —Kin HubbardWe’re between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Time for commitments has been cut at least by a third to get ready for Christmas.Earlier today, I was behind in my scheduled tasks....
by Zoe M. McCarthy | Nov 26, 2015 | Writing
“Simplicity is a virtue in writing, true; but never the primary virtue. … Vividness is.” —Dwight V. SwainI created the following paragraph, ignoring Dwight V. Swain’s recommendations for vivid writing in his book, Techniques of the Selling Writer.Her car had...
by Zoe M. McCarthy | Nov 19, 2015 | Writing
“If you can take a little slice of the world and a little piece of dirt and really focus on details, you can drive large, seemingly spectacular movements.” —David Baldacci (Writer’s Digest November/December 2015)Note the quote from David Baldacci above....
by Zoe M. McCarthy | Nov 12, 2015 | Writing
“Pacing is a tool that controls the speed and rhythm at which a story is told and the readers are pulled through the story events.” —Jessica Page MorrellWe’d wince at these comments in reviews:Too much description and explaining bogged down the...
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