Earlier, I wrote about beginning a story with a question: "What if?" Ask yourself that question while digesting that morning's news. Example: A candidate declares for office—a high-profile state or national race. Might that news item prompt a "What if?" Perhaps the candidate was involved in a deadly high school prank twenty, thirty years ago. Maybe he was one of three buddies who bullied a fourth…
People invariably ask, “Do you start with an outline?” Yes and no. A writer has to have a genesis for a story, perhaps even a general idea of where the tale is headed. But that’s not a preordained sequence I commit to paper. My characters are rarely fully formed when I begin. I may know who my protagonists are, but getting inside their heads is a process, not something put down in an outline.…
As an illustrator for newspapers, and now as an author, people ask me, “Which came first?” I wrote occasional feature articles during my journalism career but was always an artist first. Now retired, I spend my time writing. I didn’t stop drawing after taking up writing. Authors have to train their minds and writing skills to “keep their hand in.” Think of short writing exercises as a form of mental…
The late great Elmore Leonard advised authors to avoid prologues. His answer to prologues was to "drop in a backstory anywhere you want to." Ordinarily I'd follow his advice. After all, he had a good track record as storyteller. I handle prologues two ways: All three of my novels have them. I used brief prologues to introduce the background for my stories. I labored to make them concise and intriguing.…
Famous writers will sometimes share the “How To” of writing. Authors-in-waiting, myself included, devour these hints as if they were pronounced from Olympus. It should be obvious some rules are common sense. The writer in question has developed others because they work for them. The late Elmore Leonard, one of the written word’s finest craftsmen, followed guidelines as…
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