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The Writer’s Bookshelf

If you’re like me, you treasure your writing bookshelf, the volumes that have survived the onset of the Internet and stand loyally by, ready to be perused or referred to. Below are some of the titles I treasure most. Are they on your shelf? If not, they’re worth checking out.
The Chicago Manual of Style: The [...]

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Category Fiction: What’s Hot?

In my Marshall Plan® books I have always recommended writing the genre you love to read. It gives you several advantages. First, the passion you have for reading a particular genre carries over into the writing. Second, you’ll already have a good idea of what’s been done and what hasn’t.
But what if you read several genres? [...]

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How to Turn Off an Agent

A lot has been written about the proper way to approach a literary agent. Equally helpful, I think, are some guidelines on how not to approach an agent. Do any of the following and you’ll be sure to turn an agent right off.
Educate him about publishing. Why do some writers feel compelled to begin their [...]

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Writing the Reaction Section

In The Marshall Plan®, the basic units of story are the action section and the reaction section. In my previous post I discussed writing the action section. In this post I’ll discuss writing the reaction section.
To recap . . . We’re writing a vampire romance in which our heroine, Sidora (a vampire), has the overall [...]

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Writing the Action Section

In The Marshall Plan®, a novel consists of “sections.” Sections can be either action sections or reaction sections. In simplest terms, in an action section, things happen. In a reaction section, people react to the things that happened.
In this post I’m going to review the basics of structuring an action section. I’ll cover the reaction [...]

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Get Your Buzz On

Many writers have a hard time figuring out what’s different about their work and then expressing this in words. Yet being different is vital in today’s fiction writing world.
Buzzuka is a fun, free way to develop and refine your buzz. I enjoyed working my way through the process. Here’s what I came up with:
What if you [...]

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Limbering Up for Novelists

Musicians often limber up by playing music different from what they’re used to. It keeps them fresh, gives them a new perspective on what they’re doing. Novelists can do the same thing–limber up by trying different forms of storytelling.
I’ve recently done this, and enjoyed it immensely. Here’s what I tried and how I felt about each.
Flash [...]

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