The AND THEN GAME (aka Plotting)

by | Jan 29, 2016 | Author Questions, Writing

When it comes to plotting, this is what I do. Drink lots of tea and eat biscuits, and wonder why I think I can write. No, no, wait, sorry, that’s just what I do all the time. When it comes to plotting this is what I do. Get a piece of paper Draw a squiggly snake...

In Author Words

by | Apr 23, 2014 | Author Questions, Writing

When I first began in this industry, I was alternately exhilarated and (to quote Anne Shirley) “in the depths of despair.” Publishing is ever changing, evolving, and the information about getting (and staying) published, conflicting. What was a new writer...

Author Question

by | Mar 2, 2010 | Author Questions

Q: When you have a character with a long monolouge and you want to break up the paragraphs, where/how do the quotations go?A: When you have the paragraph change, don’t put end quoations on the last sentence of the paragraph, but do put starting quotations on the...

Author Question

by | Feb 18, 2010 | Author Questions

Q: When do you use a scene break, and what’s the format?A: I asked a few editors/authors about this. So, you designate a scene break with four asterisk, centered, in between the two scenes:End of scene one*****Start of scene twoUse them any time there is a...

Author Question

by | Jan 31, 2010 | Author Questions

How important is it to tell the agent/editor the length of your story, the genre, and the audience it’s intended for?In a word: VERY. Think of your book like a house. How thrilled would you be if you were searching for a house with four bedrooms and the agent...

Author Question

by | Jan 24, 2010 | Author Questions

Got an interesting question the other day: “If the heroine ends up with her ex-boyfriend’s best friend, does that discount the story as a romance?”The short is “no,” the longer answer is “it depends.” The relationship dynamic...