One of my favorite craft authors, Elizabeth Lyon, has an excellent book about revision titled Manuscript Makeover. It's a great addition to your writer's toolkit to use as a reference. The author breaks down the definition of a scene: "Scenes are based on forward-moving action. They operate to get the story launched, to put the characters into situations where they must overcome obstacles and move toward commitment to a life-changing quest. Scenes also contain sounds, smells, temperatures, … [Read more...]
Smell and Taste
January 18, 2012 Read Comments
We as writers all know about the adage, "Show Don't Tell" and one of the ways we do this is through the use of the senses. Of course the sight sense is used mostly and the touch sense but the senses of smell and taste can be often ignored. When used well, it can deepen a scene and make it pop in the reader's mind as more vivid. Here are some examples from YA novels that have stood out for me. One thing that all of these scenes share are the specifics of taste and smell. "At first I'd hold … [Read more...]
Writer’s Push
February 10, 2011 Read Comments
I mostly write at night and some of you who follow me on Twitter already know that in the last couple of days, I've been struggling with the scene from hell. **Cues scary Satanic music** This scene is a new one for the middle of the novel based on a new plot point. The premise of the scene was a setup to get all of the major players in the novel into one place so that a major turning point occurs. Sounds simple enough, right? But it just wasn't working. Ugh! And the scene from hell was … [Read more...]
Power Positions
August 4, 2010 Read Comments
I'm reading the last chapters of the fabulous craft book, A Writer's Guide to Fiction by Elizabeth Lyon. I've already shared some gems with you from this book and I highly recommend it to include in your writer library. One of the things that has stood out for me while reading this book is the phrase "power positions." The author defines it as the following: "Power positions include the first words of any piece of writing (which is why the narrative hook has such power), including first … [Read more...]
