Zoe M. McCarthy's Blog, page 28
May 21, 2015
Your Story Must Have Character Growth Moments – Some Examples
“Remember, the essence of storytelling demands that we place our main characters on a path. A quest with something at stake, with something to do, to achieve, to learn, and to change.” —Larry Brooks Novels must show change in their main characters. Growth moments in the character arc should be fed along the way as […]
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May 14, 2015
25 Questions Writing Experts Challenge You to Answer
“Good questions out rank easy answers.” — Paul Samuelson I’ve studied the craft of writing for a while now. Sometimes all the questions experts say I need to ask myself gets overwhelming. But the more I write, the less often I need to ask myself some of the questions. I finally know a grammar rule. […]
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May 7, 2015
Raise the Quality of Your Scenes with This Checklist Item
“My 16 years in radio drama has influenced me. You only have 45 minutes, and 7000 words, to tell a story, so every scene has to have a point.” —Rachel Joyce Most novelists who have a scene checklist look for at least: A goal A conflict Increased motivation/stakes. The Who, What, Where, When, and Why […]
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April 30, 2015
How to Use Humor in Your Writing
A man walks into a bookstore. “Where’s the self-help section?” he asks the clerk. She shrugs and replies, “If I tell you, won’t that defeat the purpose?” —Anonymous Jan Elder is my guest today. She shares tips with us about a subject I’d like to master. Humor in our writing. Be sure to learn more about […]
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April 23, 2015
Create Great Characters Using What You (or Your Spouse) Know
“You write about what you know, and you write about what you want to know.” —Joyce Maynard I wrote Calculated Risk mostly from what I, or my husband, know. With curiosity and research, we can learn much about a subject. But often: It’s easier to create a character when we know personally his job, personality & interests. […]
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April 16, 2015
Does Your Secondary Character Undermine Another Character’s Role?
“The glory of the protagonist is always paid for by a lot of secondary characters.” —Tony Hoagland Most fiction writers have heard that the purpose of secondary characters is to support a main character. One of their jobs is to help flesh out a main character’s identify. Another of their tasks is to move […]
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April 9, 2015
You Should Rethink the Coincidences in Your Stories
“Coincidence cannot replace motivation.” — Debra Dixon I’ve been reading Debra Dixon’s GMC: Goal, Motivation, and Conflict. Her discussion about coincidences spoke to me. I wanted a scene between my hero and his widowed sister-in-law, the heroine, concerning an ugly secret they share. Their low opinions of each other cause them to avoid each other’s […]
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April 2, 2015
Sometimes You Need a Rejection
“ I take rejection as someone blowing a bugle in my ear to wake me up and get going, rather than retreat.” — Sylvester Stallone Through my writing, I’ve learned an important truth. I’ve gone to conferences, attended workshops, read books on the craft, been critiqued, and written, written, written. I’ve grown in my […]
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March 26, 2015
5 Easy Tips to Deepen Your Characterization
Don’t you like characters in novels to come across so real you look them up in an online directory? My guest today, Marian P. Merritt, gives pointers to do just that. After you’ve collected her tips, be sure to learn more about her new novel, The Vigil, after her post. Marian says: 1. Do an Extensive […]
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March 19, 2015
32 Marketing Ideas to Promote Your Book
“People are in such a hurry to launch their product or business that they seldom look at marketing from a bird’s eye view and they don’t create a systematic plan.” —Dave Ramsey I’ve pursued many of these marketing activities for Calculated Risk. Decide which you have time for, would enjoy, and can afford. For any […]
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