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Category: short stories
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TC Boyle Week #7–Sanders and Boyle BEND the Rule of 3!
Touch gloves–Sanders meets Boyle today. Yesterday, we saw Rule of 3, a common technique employed by MANY writers, especially those who write in English. There’s something about the rhythms it creates that are pleasing to the ear. Today, we’re going to see how both Sanders and Boyle BEND that rule. First, I’ll show…
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TC Boyle Week # 6–Scott Russell Sanders stops by to teach RULE OF 3
In North America, in English, people love the sound of items in groups of three: Goldilocks and the 3 bears, 3 Little Pigs, 3 Billy Goats Gruff…but we even like the sound of simples lists of three. Many writers know this, and Scott Russell Sanders is one of them. Here are a few examples of…
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TC Boyle Week #5–Dealing with dialogue and tags
A common problem with dialogue? Too many tags, or tags that are just a bit hokey. Here’s an example of the problem: “Yes,” she said. “No!” he exclaimed. “Why?” she inquired. “Because we have to get out of the rain and under cover,” he said, inTENTly. And so on, and so on, and….…
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TC Boyle Week #4–Boyle, meet Picoult, the Simile Queen!
Yesterday’s simile work with T. C. Boyle reminded me of someone he should meet (if he hasn’t already): Jodi Picoult, the Simile Queen! What I mean by that is in My Sister’s Keeper, a 411-page novel, she uses at least 41 similes! That means, by my account, that about 10% of her pages in that…
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TC Boyle Week #3–Smile with similes!
A simile is a comparison of UNLIKE items, using the words “like” or “as” to do so. Today, I’m going to give you the beginnings of three similes T. C. Boyle uses in his short story, “The Night of the Satellite.” Try this: First, think of how YOU might end each of these comparisons. Then,…
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TC Boyle Week: #2–STRONG SOUND IMAGERY
Writers often use imagery–appealing to the senses of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch–to help create a mood. While examples of stunning sight imagery abound, it’s rare to find stellar examples of the others. Today, let’s look at another short passage from T. C. Boyle‘s short story, “The Night of the Satellite”: A truck went blatting…
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TC Boyle week: #1–a story starter for you!
This week at fighttowrite.com, we’re going to check in with short story writer extraordinaire, T. C. Boyle, via his short story “The Night of the Satellite.” Let’s begin with the beginning: What we were arguing about that night–and it was late, very late, 3:10 A. M. by my watch–was something that had happened nearly twelve…