Laurel Garver's Blog, page 28

Abracadabra! Using sleight of hand in fiction

Narrative misdirection is a writerly trick of establishing false expectations in your readers, directing their attention to the wrong information and causing them to ignore correct information. It's an excellent way to surprise them, and has uses in nearly every genre, though it is a staple of mysteries.

J.K. Rowling happens to be a master of this technique. Time and again, Harry is certain he knows who the villain is, and every time he is wrong! Author and blogger John Granger goes into a gre...

Why so tense?

Why yes, this is an old post I'm reincarnating. You see, it's my birthday tomorrow, and I'm treating myself to a little slothfulness this weekend. But don't worry. While I'm growing moss on my fur, you get useful pointers about an issue that repeatedly comes up in my critique group--how to maintain verb tense, and perhaps more importantly, what benefits each tense offers. Win-win, right?

Oh, and if you have any grammar or punctuation question that drives you batty, drop me a note in the commen...

Follow Fest

Today I'm taking part in the week-long Follow Fest, hosted by Melissa Maygrove. It's not too late to join the fun! Swing on by Melissa's blog to sign up. Melissa gave us a handful of questions to help us get to know one another, so without further ado, here's all about me:
Whose blog is this?Laurel Garver, a city dweller, word nerd, Indie film enthusiast and incurable Anglophile. Professor's wife and mom to an aspiring Ravenclaw. Follower of the Good Shepherd, who is faithful when we are faith...

Esteem or enhance? Using compliment and complement

It's phonics Friday, when we learn to tell apart sound-alike words known as homophones. This week's pair came to my attention while copy editing at work. Even folks with PhDs in English can get things mixed up, and spell check will not help you.

Compliment image: pippalou for morguefile.com(v., trans.) To express regard, esteem, affection or admiration; to praise; to present with a token of esteem.

(n.) Praise; an expression of regard, esteem, affection or admiration.

Examples

Rupert gave me the n...

Sa-weet!

Thanks, readers, for weighing in on my new author photos. It was helpful to hear which photo spoke to you and why. With so many sites requiring a profile picture, it's nice to have so many good options. I can use one picture here, another on Twitter and yet another on Facebook. Variety is the spice of life, right?

My plan is to go to a Tuesday-Friday schedule here on Laurel's Leaves, so swing by this Friday for a brand new Phonics Friday for help with those pesky sound-alikes, homophones. This...

A white tiger? A blue lobster? No...

....it's a rare Monday post from me! But I will pop in on my "off days" for special occasions, including two I'll share below...

PhotosI had some new author photos shot recently by the talented Leah Kelly. Here are my four favorites--two indoor and two outdoor shots.

1. Thoughtful chick in specs


















2. Jaunty angle



3. Philly girl 4. Garden variety author





































I like each of the photos for different reasons. I'm curious to know what you think! Please visit my Facebook page to vote: http://www.facebook....

Beyond closure: The key to creating satisfying story endings

Why do stories that turn on a simple epiphany bother us so much when we encounter them in fiction? Probably because they feel so fictional. In real life, insights are a lot easier to come by than true change. Look at the vast self-help section in your local bookstore and you'll see what I mean. Gurus everywhere offer tests and tools to help identify our every weakness.

But changing those things? Ah, now there's the rub.

In Think Like a Shrink, Emanuel Rosen's primer on 100 basic princ...

The secret to complex, compelling conflict

The prevailing wisdom is that conflict is the core of every story, advice that can be a bit perplexing. Not every character is prone to fist-fights or verbal sparring. Some people, when at cross-purposes with others, use soft, more positive tools to achieve their aims--they  might flatter, beg or joke. This, too, is dramatic. Story-moving.

In The Scene Book, Sandra Scofield outlines a new way of thinking about conflict that helpfully addresses this range of real human approaches, fro...

Narrative misdirection example

Scene from Never Gone, chapter 12 

Aunt Cecily motions for me to join her near the quire, where a group of mostly old folks have gathered for a cathedral tour. Oh, right, I’m supposed to be doing research for that stupid history presentation. I pack up my sketching supplies and head up the main aisle.

By the time I reach my aunt, Adèle has already started her spiel about the cathedral’s history. I expect Janie to be weaving through Cecily’s legs and swinging back and forth from her purse s...

Three bad babble habits and how to fix them

Photo credit: DTL from morguefile.comRun-ons are one of the most common errors I see in academic writing (aka my day job as a scholarly journal editor). PhD programs in English seem to encourage jamming as many ideas as possible between full stops. I once broke an 11-line sentence into FOUR parts. Clearly this was a case of reader distrust--an anxiety that the reader wouldn't comprehend the way ideas were linked unless crammed together. Keep in mind that a paragraph is...