I wish the “Show don’t tell” rule would die a fiery death. It’s an arbitrary, misleading decree, widely abused in writing groups where it gives pedants a footing for unconstructive criticism that they don’t have to justify. It can push inexperienced writers into breaking the equally-misunderstood brevity rule, because sometimes showing takes a lot more …
A client in the early first-draft stage wonders whether he should spend time writing character backgrounds. It’s a good question. Personally, I have probably tens—maybe hundreds—of thousands of words in character interviews, backgrounds, childhood stories, 360-degree “performance reviews,” horoscopes… so you’re not going to hear from me that you shouldn’t do it. I’d just caution …
Should you spend time writing character backgrounds? Read More »
Available at last! Buy now on Amazon An Unacceptable Love Clergyman’s son John Waterfield is handsome, absurdly modest, and oblivious to the gossip swirling around him when he suddenly finds himself Regency London’s most celebrated new portrait artist. His success is assured, so long as he can hide his forbidden desires from society–and from …
“I don’t think I’ve ever read anything so beautiful.” Read More »
I got rid of my books a few years ago in a total home decluttering. This was at the thin end of the massive wedge that smartphones were becoming, and I was no longer reading much. Too distracted. And besides, I live in a very small house. Why cover the walls with bookcases? Anything I …
My book cover for Restraint began with a thousand crazy tasks, and ended here: Ninety percent of the saga—junk shop scavenging, spray painting, sewing, pinning, upholstering, dyeing, borrowing, eBaying and freaking out-—has been has been cropped or photoshopped out of the final cover. And yet everyone agrees that it’s all still there, under the surface. Even …
