Genre Focus–Mystery/Police Procedural
Thanks to bensound.com for the intro and outro music.
Plot and Structure: Chronological vs. Non-Chronological Structure
Ask the Author: Mia Northrop via aarongansky.com – I’d like to include some real speeches spoken by politicians in my novel, but edit them for length and paraphrase some of the repetitive parts. What are my responsibilities in declaring that the speeches are not fictitious?
Fight Scenes–Recast
Welcome back, loyal listeners! Though we tried valiantly to record a cast this week, circumstances thwarted us. Most notably, Aaron’s sister underwent brain surgery on Tuesday. While she’s recovering well, the financial burden is pretty steep. If you’re able to contribute, she and her family would be forever appreciative. You can do so here. In the…
Author Spotlight: Normandie Fischer
[This week on Author Spotlight, I feature Normandie Fischer, author of Becalmed. She studied sculptures in Italy for a number of years before returning home to complete her degree. In the seventies, she began editing and writing technical books in the DC area while teaching sculpture and taking portrait commissions. Her first novel, Becalmed, released recently…
Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing
It’s a pretty popular thing for accomplished writers to compile lists of rules* for writing fiction. This week, Steve and I tackle 10 of these rules as suggested by Elmore Leonard. Elmore Leonard cut his teeth writing westerns, but quickly moved on to crime novels. He wrote nearly two dozen novels (many of them best…
First Lines
This week, Steve and I look at the importance of first lines in fiction. The information is largely taken and adapted from my book, Firsts in Fiction: First Lines. The first line of your novel is especially important for a few reasons. Firstly, you want to make sure you impress an editor. To maximize your…
Archetypes Without Stereotypes
This week Steve and I look at archetypes, how they can inform our story, and how to use them effectively without falling into stereotypical character and plot structures. To begin, we need to understand what an archetype is. Long story short, we can think of archetypes of as shapes that our characters and stories fill.
A Body of Information
On this week’s Firsts in Fiction, Steve and I discuss the physicality, the biology, of our characters, and how that adds to their depth and history. Imagining your character’s physicality means thinking about more than their physical appearance alone. Yes, the color of their eyes and hair is important, but not as important as what…
Characters from the Ground Up
In our third episode of Firsts in Fiction, Steve and I talk about how to construct characters from the ground up. Here’s a few ideas to help you pull your characters from the ether and rivet them together into unforgettable friends (or enemies). Special thanks to Nathan Sawaya for making such ridiculously awesome LEGO artwork….