From Rick: One problem writers often struggle with is how much information to divulge to the reader at various places in a story. I’m not referring only to descriptions, but also to story information. You don’t want to overload–or bore–the
Read MoreFrom Scott: We’ve had a few blog entries (including our excellent guest blogger, Robert Vardeman) about what a strong opening needs to have to capture the reader’s attention. Character. Setting. Conflict. Hook. Put all four of them in the opening
Read MoreFrom Rick: The last installment left off with the opening from Charles Dickens’ “Bleak House.” This is arguably one of the best openings in literature because it includes all of the elements of a great opening: character, setting, conflict, and
Read MoreFrom Rick: Welcome to Part 2 of our series on Openings. I trust that in the past couple of weeks you’ve had a chance to look over and analyze the samples presented. The first thing you should have done is
Read MoreFrom Rick: The opening of your story is the most important piece of writing in the entire work because this is where you either engage or lose your reader. In today’s market, where e-books abound and readers have the opportunity
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