Many novelists give little thought to how they bring their protagonist onstage for the first time. But this is very important. It establishes in the reader’s mind who this person is and what s/he is about. These things are important for your hero, your antagonist, and possibly a handful of supporting characters, as well. Remember…
One of the criticisms leveled most frequently at Christian fiction is that it often tends to be “preachy.” For the next few days, let’s discuss how to strike a balance between story and message.Here are some questions to get us started. Feel free to pose related questions as we talk this issue through. What makes…
Today’s question comes from Agent Panelist, Jonathan Clements: As a literary agent, part of the process of weeding through submissions involves analyzing (for fiction) storyline, storytelling, the characters, etc, etc. Many book queries have great storyline–and the writing / telling may be quality. However, weak characters can crash the plane immediately. [For us, ‘weak’ can…
Greetings Viewbies, and welcome to the new Writers’ View! November and December are going to be what I could best describe as a “cold opening.” I expect that there will be bumps in the road and adjustments that need to be made as we get used to our new location and format. But rather than…