Q. I have an amazing true story to tell, but publishing it may step on some toes. Should I write it as a memoir, and tell it exactly like it was? Or should I write it discreetly as a novel, so I can disguise the lurid details and stay out of trouble? If I don't write this story, the truth will … [Read more...]
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The Book Deal
Walking in your character’s shoes: Writing with authenticity
Bestselling crime novelist Patricia Cornwell inhabits and writes from inside the mind of her lead sleuth, Dr.Kay Scarpetta, the medical examiner in a blockbuster series of 20 forensic thrillers and counting. To get the details exactly right, Cornwell has hung out in a coroner’s morgue to study … [Read more...]
Ask the editor: An agent said my novel needs emotional glue. Help!
Q. An agent said my novel is missing emotional glue. Like it doesn’t stick together. What is emotional glue and how do I get it into my story? A. Emotional glue reveals a character’s internal reactions, ruminations, and anticipated responses to the dialogue and action of the story. It's the … [Read more...]
What should you expect from a developmental editor?
As a longtime developmental editor, I often get questions from authors about the editor-writer relationship. How exactly do developmental editors work? How can I tell if I’ve found a good one? And will you correct my typos? I can tell you that virtually all successful writers – from Ernest … [Read more...]
It’s the details, writers!
An author builds a narrative with thousands of tiny details. Even before a reader knows what the book is really about, it's through the gradual accumulation of these crucial moments, objects, movements, sounds, smells and touches that the power and meaning of the story emerges. As an editor … [Read more...]
Growing a short story into a novel
Do you have a short story work-in-progress that just doesn’t want to fit into 10,000 words or 25 pages? Is it bursting at the seams? Does it feel incomplete and frustrating to read? Then you may have a recalcitrant short story that could be transformed into a successful novel. A case in … [Read more...]
Wake up your readers! How to thicken a plot
Here’s a situation that editors encounter frequently: manuscripts with a large cast of potentially interesting characters, sparkling dialogue, and the glimmer of ideas churning just beneath the surface. But after a little while the scenes become repetitious, the characters and their machinations … [Read more...]