Bryan Davis's Blog, page 11

Critique Group – Tuned on the Luthier’s Workbench

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Or a nice glass of melonade.

Don’t forget the critiquing guidelines. All I ask is that you post a comment about the submission below. Don’t feel like you have to critique the whole piece. Even a short comment on one aspect can be helpful.

If you want to submit a manuscript for critique, please read the guidelines as well as this list of common mistakes to avoid before submitting.

This post will stay active indefinitely, so you can come back and add comments at any time. If you are the writer...

Critique Group – The Three Golden Rules

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Really? Do you mean it’s not perfect?

Don’t forget the critiquing guidelines. All I ask is that you post a comment about the submission below. Don’t feel like you have to critique the whole piece. Even a short comment on one aspect can be helpful.

If you want to submit a manuscript for critique, please read the guidelines as well as this list of common mistakes to avoid before submitting.

This post will stay active indefinitely, so you can come back and add comments at any time. If you are...

Writing Tips: No Easy Obstacles – Suffering is Good for Your Story

[image error]I will never forget when my daughter, author Amanda L. Davis, once told me that she had come to a halt in her writing. She wasn’t sure where to take the story next. I said, “Make your hero suffer.” That simple advice broke the logjam and allowed her to continue. It also helped her make her story more gripping for readers and difficult to put down.

This piece of advice came to mind recently while I was watching a series called Extinct on BYU-TV. I turned it on because I was told that the story...

Critique Group – Past the Gatekeepers

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And always include the comma when you say, “Let’s eat, Grandpa!”

Don’t forget the critiquing guidelines. All I ask is that you post a comment about the submission below. Don’t feel like you have to critique the whole piece. Even a short comment on one aspect can be helpful.

If you want to submit a manuscript for critique, please read the guidelines as well as this list of common mistakes to avoid before submitting.

This post will stay active indefinitely, so you can come back and add comment...

Critique Group – Out of Darkness

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The order of the editor must end?

I need more critique-group submissions!

Don’t forget the critiquing guidelines. All I ask is that you post a comment about the submission below. Don’t feel like you have to critique the whole piece. Even a short comment on one aspect can be helpful.

If you want to submit a manuscript for critique, please read the guidelines as well as this list of common mistakes to avoid before submitting.

This post will stay active indefinitely, so you can come back and ad...

Amazing Review of Two Reapers Books

[image error]Authors like getting good reviews, but every once in a while I see a review that truly shines and makes me feel fulfilled as an author.

A recent review by Tracey Dyck (Photo at left) of two of my Reapers books did just that. I am reposting it here.

Original link – http://traceydyck.blogspot.ca/2017/10/book-reviews-beyond-gateway-reaper.html

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Today I’m excited to be sharing not one, but TWO awesome book reviews! I feel like I’ve been doing more reviews than normal lately, which...

Writing Tip – Accusation and Vindication

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In past posts, I talked about establishing emotional connections between readers and your characters. Today I am adding a new method – accusing your character of some kind of wrongdoing or fault and later vindicating him.

When a character is falsely or unfairly accused, readers often feel righteous anger at the accuser and sympathy for the accused. Readers want to see the accused character vindicated. When the writer delivers that vindication, readers feel relieved, and the emotional satisfa...

Critique Group – No Entries

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Yes, and we editors get lonely and sad if no one sends in something to critique.

This is the second consecutive week without an entry for the critique group, and we have had other lulls recently. Therefore, I am suspending this feature for the rest of 2017.

Writers are still welcome to send something in during that time period, but there will be no new posts until at least the start of 2018. If you want to send something in, be sure to follow the critiquing guidelines.

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Story Development – Search for The Astral Dragon

[image error]A lengthy excerpt from my new story, Search for the Astral Dragon, is below. First a bit of discussion:

I decided to gear my new story toward young adults instead of middle-grade readers. That allows me more flexibility with regard to how much pain the heroic characters can suffer. If you read the original, you will be able to see the changes and why the new version is clearly no longer a middle-grade story.

Here is a link to the first version – http://www.theauthorschair.com/2015/07/21/story...

Critique Group – The Black Claw

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Or maybe the editor could be a red pen with a seemingly unlimited supply of ink.

Don’t forget the critiquing guidelines. All I ask is that you post a comment about the submission below. Don’t feel like you have to critique the whole piece. Even a short comment on one aspect can be helpful.

If you want to submit a manuscript for critique, please read the guidelines as well as this list of common mistakes to avoid before submitting.

This post will stay active indefinitely, so you can come back...