By Kelley Lindberg Choosing a name for your character is every bit as important – and sometimes as difficult – as choosing a name for your child. There are plenty of criteria for choosing the right name. You want the name to be memorable, for one. It should also be easy to say (or read). […]
Writing Craft
Giving Voice to Your Characters
by Kelley Lindberg For the last two weeks, we’ve been discussing different aspects of “voice.” Your voice is the unique sound to your writing that sets your story apart from everyone else’s. They say there are only a handful of basic stories. It’s how we tell them that distinguishes them. Some writers elevate the idea […]
Using Voice to Establish Mood
by Kelley Lindberg Voice – it’s that elusive, yet all-important quality that makes your book uniquely yours. It’s how you observe and write about things. It’s the language you use. It’s the language your characters use. It’s the details that you choose to expound upon, the emotions you sketch upon the page, and the pacing […]
Do Your Sentences Have a Sense of Rhythm?
by Kelley Lindberg Email question of the week: “How can I better improve the flow of paragraphs and sentences? The rhythm, that is.” Great question. As you know already, there won’t be any easy answers because this is where it all becomes incredibly personal to you and that mysterious, amorphous quality called “your voice.” (In other words, […]
Buff Up Your Writing with Exercises
by Kelley Lindberg Writing exercises are the bane of every student’s existence. But they are the favorite playground for many, many professional writers. Why? Because writing exercises do for your writing skills what physical exercises do for your body. A muscular build isn’t a “talent” you’re born with. It’s the result of dedication to a […]
Article-Writing Anxiety
by Kelley Lindberg Today I’m dipping into the ol’ email-bag, and coming up with the following question from a reader: “What did you do to get over the anxiety relating to your first task as a writer?” I assume tackling your first writing assignment is much like parachuting for the first time (although I doubt […]
