In this article, I’ll be taking a look at how to identify bizarro fiction and how to use that knowledge to improve your own bizarro writing. We’ll end with a useful exercise you can try at your desk (it involves cowboys,) but for now, our first question is obvious…
Kate Bernheimer is like fiction’s knight errant, on a mission to rescue fairy tales from the tall, dark tower where they’ve been locked away with other vestiges of childhood – like optimism and the color pink. Bernheimer’s writing style is magical and her modern fairy tales are understandably popular, but the average writer may think …
3 Ways Kate Bernheimer Can Help You Improve Your Writing Read More »
Naming characters is a mercurial task. Sometimes, characters arrive in your mind wearing a name badge. Sometimes, their name is so hidden that you get the impression they’re only joining your story to lay low. Generally, experimentation is the answer, but I’m not here today to give you tips on where to find names. That’s …
6 Things Authors Forget When Naming Their Characters Read More »
Sometimes, you’re midway through a story and you suddenly realize what you need to change to make it work. A later development requires some earlier foreshadowing, or you need to remove a detail so your new path makes sense. It’s a lightbulb moment, and often the point where a story really comes together for many …
‘Retcon’: How To Rewrite Details In An Ongoing Series Read More »
