Most people who read the blog already know how much I love books and how I love to talk about the writing craft. Recently one of my new subscribers asked me what I was currently working on --- so I thought I would share what I'm currently writing. I've always been intrigued by the paranormal --- my first novel was a middle-grade (MG) ghost story sparked by an event I had as a kid. Growing up I read a lot of science fiction and horror so I tend to be attracted to those areas as well. … [Read more...]
Action Scene: Specials
April 9, 2010 Read Comments
Eariler this week, I talked about some of the characteristics of what can make a good action scene. On Wednesday, I shared an action scene and today I'm going to share another one from a YA novel that I think executes characteristics of an action scene really well. These paragraphs come from a chapter titled "Pursuit" from Specials by Scott Westerfeld. The title name itself clues the reader that they are getting ready for some action. The protagonist,Tally, is pursuing a helicopter on … [Read more...]
Action Scene: The Hunger Games
April 7, 2010 Read Comments
On Monday, I talked about some of the characteristics of what can make a good action scene. Today I'm going to share two paragraphs from a YA novel that I think executes characteristics of an action scene really well. These two paragraphs are from Chapter 13 of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. This book is currently No.1 on the New York Times Children's Chapter Books Bestseller list --- and a mainstay on that list for a whopping 81 weeks. For those of you who read the blog, you … [Read more...]
Pen, Paper, Action!
April 5, 2010 Read Comments
When I met with my critique group this past weekend, I submitted a major turning point scene from the novel. This was an action scene, which needed a lot of work. So this week on the blog, I'm going to concentrate on action scenes. What makes them work? What are the characteristics of a good action scene? Jordan Rosenfeld, who is the author of the craft book, Make A Scene talks about some of the things you want to have in your action scene: The events unfold in "real time," … [Read more...]
