Frankisms

“You cannot say that John was angry at Mary and expect that the emotion will translate to the reader. — James Scott Bell”

writing

“You cannot write a novel out of inspiration, out of a moment of genius. There’s no substitute for sitting down every day for four hundred days and writing a page. — Ethan Canin”

writing

“You don’t need to be a literary genius, or even wildly successful, to render emotions effectively. But you do have to work at it. — Ann Hood”

writing

“You don’t want to wrap up every detail in a neat bow at the end. That kind of ending gives closure, but it won’t stay with the reader. — Laurie Alberts”

writing

“You must deliberately create sympathetic and believable characters in order to create an emotional response in your reader. — Cheryl St.John”

writing

“You must first go over your material in your mind, trying to find the focus, the perspective, the angle of vision that will make you see clearly the shape of whatever it is you are writing about. — Rudolph Flesch”

writing

“You need peaks and valleys in your story. Your audience must be able to recognize the calm spots in order to recognize high intensity. — Cheryl St.John”

writing

“You need to do more than simply assert that you disagree with a particular view. You also have to offer persuasive reasons why you disagree. — Gerald Graff”

writing

“You want people “mad” at you for keeping them up all night reading your book. You don’t want them telling you your book is a wonderful sedative. — Jeff Gerke”

writing

“You will be published if you possess three qualities—talent, passion, and discipline. — Elizabeth George”

writing

“You will have to feel that previous time as acutely as if you were living in it. You’ll have to pretend that you don’t know anything that has happened since then, or anything that has been invented since then. — James Thom”

writing

“You will take leaps naturally if you follow your thoughts, because the mind spontaneously takes great leaps. — Natalie Goldberg”

writing

“You, the writer, want to be invisible. You don’t want to write flowery prose or use words that distract the reader from becoming immersed in the narrative. — Cheryl St.John”

writing

“Your audience decides when you’ve broken a rule. Just as any utterance can be a sentence, depending on whether the listener hears a sentence, so any utterance can be a mistake. — Robert Pinkert”

writing

“Your character must make a sacrifice or at the very least take a big risk. — Cheryl St.John”

writing

“Your characters should have strong feelings about where they live, work, travel, and play. — Cheryl St.John”

writing

“Your characters’ thoughts shouldn’t sound like you. Developing unique voices for them takes forethought and practice. — Cheryl St.John”

writing

“Your hero is only as heroic as the strength of the villain she overcomes. — Jeff Gerke”

writing

“Your hero should exit the story enlightened, enriched, evolved, and enabled in comparison to how he entered the story. — Larry Brooks”

writing

“Your most important task is to make the reader care. — Cheryl St.John”

writing

“Your reader needs to care deeply before she can be brought to feel deeply. — Eric Edson”

writing

“Your readership is in direct proportion to how much you make your characters struggle to get what they want, and how much you put them at risk. — Carole Bugge”

writing

“Your story people reveal their true selves when they talk, and as writers our mission is to develop these characters into believable people. — Cheryl St.John”

writing

“Your style is your voice, and your voice will create an intimacy with your reader that is profound. — Joe Vitale”

writing

“Your titles don’t have to have the sensationalism of cheap journalism, but why not make them intriguing? Why not let them tease and tantalize and attract? — Roy Sorrels, “How to Start Smart””

writing

“We’re losing the knack of separating stories from histories—of understanding the difference between a provocative bit of dreaming and a provocative fact. — Peter Mandel, author”

writing

“A good dramatic nonfiction narrative should have the same elements you’d expect to see in a work of fiction. — Anita Bartholomew”

writing

“Athletes give their lives in strenuous training for a short-lived glory, but writers strive for a reward that will last forever. — 1 Corinthians. 9:25”

writing

“Blow me away with an amazing novel or develop a great platform accompanied by a great idea that will make a publisher’s eyes water. Then you’ve got a fighting chance. — Steve Laube, Literary Agent”

writing