Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris
Writing about writing. Mostly.
by Anne R. Allen Whenever I teach a writing workshop, the hardest concept to get across is point of view. Almost every new writer wants to “head-hop”— that is, describe the thoughts of every character in the story — “hopping” from one head to another. This is why head-hopping is considered the mark of […]
by Ruth Harris Style was once described as “looking like yourself on purpose.” I don’t know who said it but the words and the idea behind them always made sense to me. Certainly Barbra Streisand, Audrey Hepburn and Tilda Swinton are examples. So are Salvador Dali and Andy Warhol. They don’t look like anyone else and are instantly […]
by Becca Puglisi Like many other kids, I got my first job as a babysitter. You’re probably picturing me as a competent, CPR-trained teenager armed with craft supplies and a boatload of determination. But this was 1981, which means I was a whopping nine years old when someone put me in charge of their […]
by Ruth Harris What Ray Bradbury called the muse, Stephen King calls the “guys in the basement.” Others call it the sixth sense, the Spidey sense, or intuition. Whatever you call it, your subconscious — the thoughts you don’t know you’re thinking — is what makes the magic happen. These unknown thoughts occur below the […]
by Anne R. Allen It’s been said that if writing advice were classic rock, “Show Don’t Tell” would be “Stairway to Heaven.” But is it always good advice? Of course nobody wants to read a novel that tells a series of incidents. That can sound like a four-year-old recapping his day. “I had Froot […]
by Anne R. Allen In a comment on my post “A Little Less Conversation. A Little More Action Please,” Audrey Driscoll pointed out that novels that throw in a whole lot of combat and running from danger can be boring, too. She was absolutely right. In my response to her comment, I tried to […]
by Kenneth Strange, Jr. As a former FBI agent and true crime author, I seem to be more in demand for speaking engagements than ever before. However, to set the record straight, I will often begin a talk debunking FBI myths including the notion that we FBI agents have experience working in the realm […]
Dialogue is fun in fiction, but too much can be exhausting by Anne R. Allen Yes, I’m quoting an Elvis song (actually by his songwriters Mac Davis and Billy Strange) in a writing article. But the title is a good thing to keep in mind when you’re writing fiction. I recently paid money for a […]
by Ruth Harris Into (almost) every book about grown-ups some sex must fall. How or even whether the details are described is up to the author, but for now let’s get beyond the nitty-gritty details of who-does-what-to-whom and what-goes-where. Instead, let’s consider some likely circumstances, consequences and complications offered by literary sex. 1) Or, […]
by Anne R. Allen What’s over-workshopping? It’s what happens when writers attend too many writing workshops or critique groups where they’re fed dogmatic, my-way-or-the-highway rules. Following rules too closely can slow down your story (and your career.) It can also eliminate what’s creative and original in your work. You can spend years schlepping that […]
by Becca Puglisi Have you ever fallen in love with a story villain? Or at least found yourself liking them somewhat against your will? Seems a little weird, experiencing all the happy feels for this character, but I think we’ve all been there. When a villain is well written and well rounded, they can tug […]
by Anne R. Allen I’m sure everybody remembers the teacher or parent who told you they didn’t like your “tone” when you were being a snarky adolescent. Or a whiney brat who wanted a cookie right before dinner: “Oh, right. I’m going to ride my bike to the dance? Like I’m 10 years old?” […]
by Ruth Harris The lights are red. All signs are Stop Signs. That stack of pages you thought was going to be a book? You know, with characters, a setting, maybe even a plot? Somehow, it vanished in a wasteland of false starts, dead ends and dead darlings. Why? What happened? You’re the author — […]
