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Category: writing technique
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POWER POSITIONS IN PROSE: Niloufar-Lily Soltani’s ZULAIKHA
I met Lily Soltani at the Robson Indigo bookstore this past weekend, where she was doing a book signing. In fact, I was the first to get a signed copy… I cracked open the cover, began to read, and quickly discovered what the publisher, Inanna, must have noticed when they selected this book for publication;…
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STELLA NOVELLA? Mel Anastasiou can certainly TELLA tale!
Memorable characters–they’re the lifeblood of strong storytelling. Artist, writer, and editor Mel Anastasiou understands that all too well… Anastasiou is the author of several Stella Novellas, mysteries featuring an unlikely heroine: Stella, the octogenarian star of her Fairmount Manor Mysteries. Yes, I said octogenarian. Imagine if Janet Evanovich’s Grandma Mazur got smarter and actually did…
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Prologue Trick from Lisa Unger and Michael Slade and…
To some editors and many readers that “P” word, “prologue,” is almost a swear word. Piles of readers skip over prologues to get to “the meat” of the story. Some editors HATE them. But…what if your story needs one? Here’s a strategy used by Lisa Unger in Beautiful Lies: October 25th, 1972 There were times…
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Vandermeer on dissection for fiction writers
First of all, I picked up a copy of Jeff Vandermeer’s book, Wonderbook, and I’m having trouble deciding whether it’s a book about writing or a work of art–amazing! But on page 42, I read the following: To grow as a fiction writer, you absolutely must engage in some dissection of stories, your own and…
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Can you smell it? How to use strong imagery like Natalie Kusz in “Vital Signs”!
Imagery is a definite “choose your weapon” topic. I mean, you have five senses to choose from (or combinations of them). While sight and touch are present in many works, look at how Natalie Kusz appeals to the sense of SMELL in “Vital Signs”: I was always waking up, in those days, to the smell…
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Make your opening paragraph Google-worthy!
Strange title for today’s post, I know. I’ll let you know in a minute or two what I mean by it, but in the meantime, read this short passage from “Man Changing into Thunderbird,” by Armand Garnet Ruffo(published in the summer 2013 edition of The Malahat Review): The room is cramped with people. an…