Writers, do you have a high-action starting scene that just isn’t drawing the reader in? What can you do about that? You need to set your scene to draw readers into the POV of the main character and give us an emotional connection to him. Without that, it’s hard to care about what’s going on. […]
Using Motivation-Reaction Units to Change Telling into Showing
Showing your story to your readers instead of telling it is a cardinal rule in fiction writing, yet much easier said than done. One very effective way to change telling into showing is a concept called motivation-reaction units (MRUs). What are MRUs? They were first introduced by Dwight V. Swain, in his book Techniques of the Selling […]
Get into Your Character’s Head
Hooking the reader–it’s the author’s goal from the first word to the last. This is why one of the best compliments a reader can give an author is, “I couldn’t put it down.” But how do you accomplish this goal? How do you keep the readers flipping through hundreds of pages? Much is taught about hooking readers […]
Show vs. Tell – A Beautiful Example
We often mention that telling instead of showing is the biggest reason why we reject submitted manuscripts, and we have many articles on the Castle Gate Press website that discuss ways to show rather than tell. Recently, I came across an example of what showing looks like that is so deep and vivid that I just […]
MRUs Can Transform Your Writing
A search of the internet for advice on how write better fiction will lead to millions of links to articles about a wide variety of techniques that vary from learning the minutia of grammar to firming up your overarching theme. One technique, however, is both insanely simple and incredibly effective. It’s called the motivation-reaction unit, […]
Sci-fi/fantasy writers, don’t spend too long worldbuilding, says podcast
Writers, you’ll agree that it’s certainly a temptation to lose yourself in the details of the world you are building. You want to understand the details of it, like what’s for supper and how it got to the table, for example. Or the special creatures like this fiery deer. What about the geography of the […]
How to draw readers to Christ, gently
C.S. Lewis was one of the great evangelists. He used story to draw people to the faith, stories that showed the spine-tingling presence of God in a way that pulls us in like moths to the flame. As I said in a previous blog post, his prayer for his readers was that “they will fall […]
Revision Prompt – Adverbs
You’ve heard of writing prompts, now we have revision prompts! Each prompt will give you a specific writing issue to check for in your WIP, along with tips on how to fix each. Going through this process one issue at a time will not only help polish your current novel but will also teach you specific ways to […]
Showing, not telling, character emotions
Some writers seem to have no trouble conveying the emotions of their characters. But it’s hard to do. We’re tempted to just out-and-out tell our reader what the character is feeling. “Fear strangled her.” “Love poured through her.” And so on. What’s wrong with that? Here’s what’s wrong: The reader feels held at a distance. […]
A Word about Suspense
You’ve got a great story idea, characters your readers will love, and a fantastic surprise twist. You can’t wait to start writing and lead your readers along the path of suspense that builds up to the big reveal at some point late in the story. Most of all, it tickles your stomach to think of […]