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With an MFA from the Iowa Writers Workshop, I've immersed myself in the academic world, teaching writing for seventeen years of my life; I'm an online fiction writing instructor with UCLA Extension Writing Program and Writers.com. I also edit manuscripts with Book Butchers, as well as my Online Writing Academy, where I also teach, consult and coach. I warmly welcome potential editing clients and students to contact me.
Magazines and anthologies have included hundreds of my short stories, poems and many essays as well. Publishers have released my books including chapbooks, collections, novelettes and novellas. I've published many authors as well, and have four novels. My writing has won many awards such as gold medals, and I've been listed with one of the top dozen Thrillers of 2018. If you're interested in writing services, let me know.
Chapbooks can make all the difference to literary success If you take poetry or short story writing seriously, then chapbooks could possibly be in your future. If you write material that could be published elsewhere, gathering it together in a thirty-two-page-or-less booklet is something to consider. Chapbooks provide many benefits to a literary career.
The fiction genre similar to Magical Realism Many people mistakenly describe what they like to write, read or watch as Magical Realism, but in fact, that term is specific to Latin American narratives and includes their unique world-view.
Instruction for writing full-bodied narrative Often, you'll see instructions about the craft of writing that sound like we are all disembodied brains attached by wires to fingers typing away. But storytelling has historically involved obvious embodiment, such as the oral tradition of speaking directly to people, using gestures and expressions, changing the tone of voice, looking them in the eyes; dramas are obviously employing full physicality.
People are using the term more loosely than ever, which dilutes the rich history from which Magical Realism arises. You technically can't just write fiction in which strange things happen and use that label for it. When we examine the world-view that Magical Realism portrays, we can then create something amazing that keeps the tradition alive rather than dissing it.
How do you write short fiction correctly? Traditional short stories aren't generally stream-of-consciousness spontaneous anecdotes; the first draft may begin that way, but then you should apply the rules if you want the story to be published in a conventional magazine or anthology.
Questions to ask yourself when writing or revising a narrative Ask yourself these questions about your characters in a narrative to make your short story, novel engaging enough to command attention from a large audience. Do the characters' introductions intrigue readers? The first time a reader comes across a character, do the readers; ears perk up?
Veeeery tricky Writing backstories in fiction is precarious. You can easily ruin everything if you're not careful. While people have mixed feeling about the use of flashback, at least it's narrative rather than expository, so it remains immersive and vivid. Expository backstory can be extremely dull on the page unless it's explained by a creative, quirky narrator.
Employ specificity, surprise and variation Rather than simply telling us your character is well-off, show her giving a cabbie a big tip, wearing cashmere, going to the hunt club, displaying photos of her big yacht on the wall, drinking 500 dollar bottle of wine, or something along those lines.
When should you break paragraphs in fiction? One of the challenges I've noticed my fiction writing students struggling with most consistently is paragraphing. So, let's look at some rules and suggestions. Rule 1 - Dialogue One of the most common problems I see in beginning fiction writers' efforts is the lack of proper paragraph breaks between speakers in dialogue.
Analysis of a technique The TV show Halt and Catch Fire provides beautiful examples of the methods and benefits of the micro-obstacles that great writers of screen/teleplays/fiction put in the way of characters' forward momentum until they periodically open the gates to the pent up flow.