No story requires an actual villain but stories are normally about overcoming something and a villain fills the bill nicely. That said, introduce the villain as soon as possible. Characters introduced late in the story tend to be ignored by readers because they are used to having all important characters introduced early on so as …
Author: florencewitkop
writer of fiction, including clean romance, distopian, confession, mystery, sci-fi, romance
A copy of my newsletter
News and notes from Florence Witkop A BIT ABOUT ME Here goes --- my first real newsletter and that's saying a lot from someone as technologically inept as I am. But, as with all writers, I have things I want to say and that means figuring out how this newsletter thing works, starting with a …
Novels and novellas
I started my latest book this morning. It's a time travel novella to be part of a boxed set of time travel stories. I had it plotted so I started writing. When I took a break I looked over what I'd written and wondered if I'd have to pare down the story because it might …
My feeble attempt at a newsletter!
I have a confession to those of you who don't already know a sad fact about me: I'm technologically challenged. That means that computer stuff that other people can do in minutes take me hours -- days -- weeks. I'm not kidding. A fellow author, when discussing MailChimp for newsletters, said it's easy to figure …
What is the word for those that write as if they are someone than themselves, as in writing, pretending you are him or her?
If you write as if you are the person telling the story — the viewpoint character — it’s called First Person. It’s a good way to write because it gets the writer into the head of their viewpoint character.
So, I wrote a fiction novella draft. What now?
Now you turn that draft into a finished product, which can be done if you follow the steps that are outlined in lots of classes, books, videos, etc. They all go something like this (with individual variations, of course) : Make sure your story follows the steps of ‘The Hero’s Journey.’ That’s a book outlining …
Continue reading So, I wrote a fiction novella draft. What now?
How much time did it take to write your first novel (from start to finish)?
This question makes me chuckle because there’s no real answer. I suspect that most authors will say the same thing. It’s relatively easy to say how long your second novel took to write. Or your third. Or fourth. And so on. But your first? It took forever! Absolutely forever!, Because your first novel is a …
Continue reading How much time did it take to write your first novel (from start to finish)?
Why are short stories interesting to readers?
A confession: I love short stories! I love them because they are short. I suspect that’s why many — maybe most — people like them. Because they are short. That said, they are not simple. Many people think a short story is an easy thing to write. A piece of fluff. A lazy person’s output. …
Continue reading Why are short stories interesting to readers?
What are your advices on writing a story?
The answer to this question — without meaning to sound snide — is to learn the craft of writing fiction. Note that I said the craft, not the art, because they are two different things and — good news — a craft can be learned. There are workshops, books, online courses, free information everywhere that …
Are first person novels more personal?
This is a personal answer. How it seems to me. Other writers may see things differently. I believe first person novels are more personal, not because of anything intrinsic about the writing itself but, rather, because the act of writing in the first person takes the author deeply into the view-point character’s mind, thoughts, feelings, …
