Episode 182 - Things to think about as we write the end of our story.
After months and month if writing, we'll near the end of our story. Our novel is almost finished. Here are things we should consider as we wrap up our story. Also, for many of us editing our own story isn't as fun as writing. Here are thoughts on how we can make sure we edit enough, and how we know when to quit editing.Support the show
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23:48
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Episode 181 - A critical difference between scene and summary.
Why should almost all of our story be scenes rather than summaries? Here's how we can avoid summaries and instead write moment-by-moment real-time scenes in our fiction. Also: here are perhaps the most beautiful sentences ever written in fiction.Support the show
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Episode 180 - The critical distance between the reader and the action.
The reader is like a camera as the scene unfolds. Where should that camera be? How far away from the characters and the action? Here are thoughts on authorial distance, about the benefits of placing the camera--the reader--near or far. Plus, how Charlotte Bronte worked. Support the show
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Episode 179 - The critical writing techniques all in one episode.
Here are the most important fiction writing techniques boiled down to twenty-five minutes. I've talked about all these elements in prior episodes but sometimes it's useful to hear things again. This episode is a refresher.Support the show
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Episode 178 - How to make readers laugh.
We may be writing a comic novel or we may want to add humor to our thriller or romance or horror or literary novel. Humor adds a strong element to most any story. Joe Pesci as Tommy DeVito in Goodfellas: “Funny how? I mean, funny like I'm a clown? I amuse you? I make you laugh?"  Well, yeah. Let's see how we can make readers laugh.Support the show
Hosted by James Thayer, the podcast is a practical, step-by-step manual on how to craft a novel. It presents a set of tools for large issues such as story development and scene construction (Kirkus Reviews said Thayer's novels are "superbly crafted') and it also examines techniques that will make your sentence-by-sentence writing shine. The New York Times Book Review has said Thayer's "writing is smooth and clear. it wastes no words, and it has a rhythm only confident stylists achieve.
Ireland