Florence Witkop's Blog, page 34

How would your writing change if you wrote the concept for a character and their role in a story and then randomly assigned their gender (assuming your writing doesn’t involve the ‘traditional’ gendered roles like women nurture and men protect)?

The answer to this question is totally personal because my writing, like the writing of every author, is personal. It wouldn’t make any difference in my character as long as I hadn’t already begun writing because, once I had the gender assigned, I’d proceed with the subconscious awareness of the character’s gender and that would… Continue reading How would your writing change if you wrote the concept for a character and their role in a story and then randomly assigned their gender (assuming your writing doesn’t involve the ‘traditional’ gendered roles like women nurture and men protect)?

What makes a good anti-hero?

The same qualities that make a good hero, only in reverse order. The thing is, if you want a really great anti-hero, you must make that character believable, easy to hate, and easy to love. So the qualities that make a good anti-hero don’t depend as much on what the qualities are as they do… Continue reading What makes a good anti-hero?

I’d like to start writing more. I used to be rather creative but it has been a long time. What is a good way to start being creative and writing prose again?

The usual answer is: start a journal. It’s a good way to simply let you mind wander while you get back into the creative stream of writing. I’ve never had a journal. Tried it several times and it never worked for me. In fact, I hated it. For me, simply taking a walk does the… Continue reading I’d like to start writing more. I used to be rather creative but it has been a long time. What is a good way to start being creative and writing prose again?

Harvest time for writers

As a writer, I know how important being organized is and when this time of year arrives, I always feel that itch to get things figured out. My favorite season as a writer is winter. Yes, I like spring and love autumn’s colors and the cool breezes that make me feel more alive, but there’s… Continue reading Harvest time for writers

Does writing a novel or other book come naturally for some people, or do most good writers have a college education and hence have learned how to write well?

Writers come from all kinds of backgrounds and many different levels of education. Those things aren’t what make a writer good or bad. The ability to clearly communicate a thought or idea and to take the reader from the real world into the world of the writer’s imagination is what makes a good writer. I… Continue reading Does writing a novel or other book come naturally for some people, or do most good writers have a college education and hence have learned how to write well?

Is it OK to switch POV in a story?

Sure it’s okay to switch POV in a story. There are all kinds of rules telling writers how to do it. ‘Keep the same POV for an entire chapter.’ ‘Keep the same POV for an entire scene.’ And so on. Lots of rules and they all try to keep the reader from being confused as… Continue reading Is it OK to switch POV in a story?

Are there any tips on writing a very large cast of characters, all with unique and rounded personalities?

There’s something in writing called ‘the rule of three.’ It goes like this: Few writers are good enough and few readers perceptive enough to keep track of more than three characters at a time. So if you have more than that — especially if you have a large cast of characters — group them into… Continue reading Are there any tips on writing a very large cast of characters, all with unique and rounded personalities?

Readers?

I’m sending my latest clean, small-town romance to the publishers in a week or so. Which means I’ll be looking for people to read my newest book so I’ll know if people like it. I need beta readers. Anyone interested? If you are, email me at fwitkop@gmail.com and I’ll email you back a free pdf… Continue reading Readers?

Can you write a clean sci-fi story?

Of course you can. You can write any kind of story and make it clean. Well, almost any kind. Definitely, sci-fi can be clean. I know because I’ve done it. Check out my sci-fi series, the Legends Trilogy, on Amazon and you’ll see how it’s done.

Fine Wine and Writing

I’m no expert on wine, but of course you know that fine wine just gets better with age (kind of like me, as I like to remind everyone I know!) Nobody orders the freshest wine or the latest vintage, because it takes time for great wine to develop; It didn’t start great. It reminds me… Continue reading Fine Wine and Writing