Tag: cliffhanger

A Starter for You from the January, 1921 National Geographic

Jul 30, 2013

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by

Ace Baker

in fiction, novels, short stories, starters

One of my favorite writing exercises is to take a piece of writing I like, clip a piece of it, and try to continue writing in that author’s style. I also love making something nonfiction into fiction. The selection I’ll ask you to try this with today comes from “The Dream Ship,” a January,…
Neil Gaiman #003: The DOUBLE DELAY

Jul 11, 2013

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by

Ace Baker

in fiction, novels, power punch, short stories, writing technique

Today, we’ll look at a very powerful technique Neil Gaiman makes use of in The Ocean at the End of the Lane. It’s one I call the DOUBLE DELAY. Now, even kids know what a cliff-hanger is if they’ve ever read a Hardy Boys or Goosebumps book. The idea that you end a chapter…