Monthly Archives: June 2020

Lit-ra-choor

Posted on June 28, 2020 by midiguru

All the fiction I’ve ever written has been genre fiction, pretty much — either fantasy (sometimes disguised as science fiction) or mysteries. In the project I’m developing right now, the plot has come to feel cumbrous, so I’m looking for … Continue reading →

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Takin’ Care of Business

Posted on June 24, 2020 by midiguru

I enjoy writing fiction. Or writing almost anything, really, but when it’s going well, fiction is a special kind of fun. Sometimes a plot gets tangled up and I get discouraged, but sooner or later I always seem to get … Continue reading →

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Inciting Is Not Enough

Posted on June 23, 2020 by midiguru

The self-appointed pundits of fiction writing technique (who are legion) will assure you that your novel must begin with an inciting incident. This is the point where the crank gets turned on the plot of your Model T and the … Continue reading →

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Who’s Viewin’ Who?

Posted on June 18, 2020 by midiguru

I’m not a fan of orthodoxy. There is, in the world of fiction-writing today, an orthodox opinion to the effect that point of view is Not Something To Be Meddled With. Again and again, in one how-to-write book after another, … Continue reading →

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The Faceless

Posted on June 17, 2020 by midiguru

I hired a developmental editor to take a look at the first part of my new novel. She’s very sharp, but not very experienced. I may have more to say later about other observations that she made; right now I … Continue reading →

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In Praise of the Adverb

Posted on June 12, 2020 by midiguru

The prevailing opinion, among those who undertake to tell writers how to write, is that the adverb is strictly to be avoided. (I’m sure you noticed what I did there.) I find this odd. The adverb is a perfectly serviceable, … Continue reading →

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To Dev or Not to Dev

Posted on June 12, 2020 by midiguru

I don’t know when developmental editing became a thing. Or beta-readers, for that matter. Is a developmental edit really necessary? In 1985 I placed my first novel with an agent and he sold it to Del Rey, first crack out … Continue reading →

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Reading Back to Front

Posted on June 1, 2020 by midiguru

The thing about mystery novels is, when you read a book from front to back, the excitement will keep you going. It keeps me going, anyway. I very rarely put down a mystery in the middle, and I drop a … Continue reading →

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