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. […]
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 […]
Fleshing out your research by author Carole Brown
“He had a tattoo on his arm.” Wow. That tells us a lot. Or not. What if we phrase it like this: “. . . the big eye rippled on his arm, never blinking, only staring.” The first one gives us information: A man has a tattoo on his arm. Basic. Factual. Interesting? No. The […]
Revision Prompt – Replace Generic Verbs 1
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 […]