Thumbnail image for Fiction Technique Tip: Summary Mode

Fiction Technique Tip: Summary Mode

Of the various writing modes in The Marshall Plan® novel writing system, perhaps the least understood and most underused is summary mode. In summary mode you report your story action in a condensed, narrative form. You tell the reader what is happening rather than show it; there’s no blow-by-blow description of events as there would be [...]

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Fiction Technique Tip: Showing Emotion

What’s wrong with this line from a novel? Sharon became upset. It’s a classic case of telling rather than showing—a fiction-writing no-no. If you tell your readers that Sharon became upset, you have interpreted and labeled her emotional state for them, rather than letting them do this for themselves. Showing a character’s emotion in your novel [...]

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Free Stuff for Fiction Writers

The Internet is full of freebies. Here are some of our favorites that are of special interest to fiction writers. Books & Magazines Book Promotion Ain’t For Sissies by author and webmistress Jenna Glatzer. Classic ebooks from Planet eBook. Classic ebooks from Project Gutenberg. Over 33,000 free ebooks; all platforms. Free and sample magazines from [...]

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Fiction Technique Tip: Remember F-A-D!

Sometimes as you’re writing dialogue you’ll find that a gesture or gestures can only go in one place. In Robert’s dialogue below, for example, the sentence containing his body language must go where it is for dramatic impact: “I couldn’t leave Eleanor. Not after all she’s done for me—medical school, raising our kids.” Robert looked down [...]

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The Writers Conference Pitch

Most writers have attended writers conferences and met editors and agents there. That’s often the reason for going. Meetings can happen at cocktail hour or during brief one-on-0ne appointments, or pitch sessions, scheduled by the conference coordinators. A chat over wine and cheese is fine, but we always recommend taking advantage of these appointments. Their [...]

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Get a Fiction Makeover for National Novel Writing Month!

A Contest Sponsored by The Marshall Plan® In celebration of National Novel Writing Month (November 2010), Evan Marshall and Martha Jewett, leading literary agents and authors of The Marshall Plan® Novel Writing Software and The Marshall Plan® for Novel Writing ebook, are sponsoring a contest for aspiring novelists. Send them a proposal for your novel for a chance [...]

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Adapt The Marshall Plan® for Short Stories

I am often asked whether The Marshall Plan® system can be adapted for writing short stories. Absolutely. Here’s what I recommend: Set up your template (or have the software do it) as follows: Use the shortest possible word length, 50,000 words. Opt for no romantic involvement. Opt for an invisible opposition. This way, neither a [...]

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