Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris

Writing about writing. Mostly.

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9 Common Dialogue Problems—And How to Fix Them

9 Common Dialogue Problems—And How to Fix Them

  by Anne R. Allen Learning to write effective, believable dialogue is one of the toughest parts of learning to write narrative — whether fiction or memoir. We don’t want to simply transcribe the way people actually talk, with all the pointless “ums” and stammery filler-things we say in real life. But we also don’t […]

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Writing Rules vs. Writing Fashion: Should Writers Follow Fashion Trends?

Writing Rules vs. Writing Fashion: Should Writers Follow Fashion Trends?

Writing fashion changes, like the fashion in Easter Bonnets by Anne R. Allen Fashion. It sounds frivolous, but it has serious effects on us all. Right now, women are getting beard-burn from kissing men who sport the fashionable romantic-hero three-day stubble. And mothers are stifling their disappointment when their golden-haired boys get the fashion-victim shaved-sides […]

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He Said. She Said. 15 Keys to Writing Great Dialogue

He Said. She Said. 15 Keys to Writing Great Dialogue

by Ruth Harris One of them is lying. Or are both of them lying? You mean maybe both of them are telling the truth? Could be, couldn’t it? No matter which answer is the correct one, what people say and the words with which they say it, will immediately bring your characters—and your book—to life. […]

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Do Your Characters Talk too Much? When to Use Indirect Dialogue

Do Your Characters Talk too Much? When to Use Indirect Dialogue

  …and How to Solve 9 Common Dialogue Problems. by Anne R. Allen I’ve been looking over some of my much-rejected early work and discovered my old stories have way too much dialogue. This is something I see in a lot of newbie fiction. I remember a guy who came into the bookstore where I […]

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