Victoria Grefer's Blog, page 14

Creative Writing and Plot: How Does Urgency Affect Suspense?

This week we’ve been discussing suspense in creative writing. Today, I thought it would fun to explore the topic of urgency in creating and maintaining suspense. How necessary is urgency to keep readers flipping pages? What role does genre play … Continue reading →

Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, and Two Kinds of Suspense All Authors Should Be Aware Of

Whatever genre you choose to write, suspense matters. Suspense will be a part of it. Of course, the best genre for suspense is the mystery/thriller genre, so today we’ll turn there to find two kinds of suspense writers can make … Continue reading →

AUTHORS: Trouble with a draft? When is it time to rethink your approach to a novel?

Planning versus “pantsing” (writing by the seat of your pants) isn’t a new topic to my blog…. but it’s become pertinent right now to me. You see, I write for the adventure of discovering what will happen. I enjoy not … Continue reading →

TIPS FOR PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS: What Can Job Hunting Teach Us Authors?

Job-hunting and writing: these have been the major focus of my life lately. Being the former grad student I am, I started comparing them: the techniques they involve, the different things that can lead to success in each. Sadly, I … Continue reading →

AUTHORS: 5 Ways to Share a Point of View That Contrasts With Your Protagonist’s

How important is it, when writing, to provide multiple points of view and multiple sides of the story? This is something all authors ask themselves, and it’s an important question without a clear cut answer. The short and easy response … Continue reading →

Time to Cut Back: Moving Posts to Twice a Week

Hi everyone! Today’s post is all about the need for balance in life (and blogging). I need more balance…. And because of that, I think the time has come to cut back on my daily blogging. I’m moving to posting … Continue reading →

For Authors: The Great Paradoxes of Writing

Today I thought it would be fun to explore some of the paradoxes of writing fiction. You know: the strange and counter-intuitive truths of the craft. (I think I’ve been reading too much G.K. Chesterton. He LOVES to write in … Continue reading →

Bloggers: Why you shouldn’t be a stat junkie

Hi. My name is Victoria. I am a blogger, and I am a stat junkie. Don’t get me wrong: it’s important to keep an eye on stats as a blogger. You have to manage stats if you want to build … Continue reading →

Creative Writing and the Frame Narrative

Today I want to talk more about story structure: a vital component to all literature and one aspect where writers can be genuinely creative. Structure allows you to play with time…. It can make a narrative suspenseful where it otherwise … Continue reading →

The Short Story: A Way for a Writer to Experiment?

Earlier this week, to commemorate my mom’s birthday, I wrote about a fun memory: how she taught the value of branching out and trying new things. This is no less applicable to writing fiction: all authors need to stretch themselves … Continue reading →