Frankisms

“If a book flows correctly, the reader should not be able to find convenient places to put it down. — Terry Burns”

writing

“If a character in a scene is just taking up space, give him an agenda or get him out of there. — James Scott Bell”

writing

“If a novelist is doing her job, no matter what kind of novel she’s writing, it contains suspense because it contains characters readers care about. — Elizabeth George”

writing

“If a plot is essentially believable—even if it’s something as imaginative and improbable as cloning dinosaurs—then the reader will stick with the story through that little click in the brain called suspension of disbelief. — Elizabeth George”

writing

“If a situation looks impossible, it’s a pretty good bet that the conflict will be strong. — Cheryl St.John”

writing

“If a stranger were nearby, would he try to eavesdrop on the conversation? If the answer is no, don’t use the dialogue. — Gary Provost”

writing

“If God is at work in the world of your novel, then you have a chance at giving your readers an experience that is humbling, joyful, and maybe even transforming. — Donald Maass”

writing

“If I am to write so others will hear, I must first listen. — Verdell Krisher, author and Christian school director”

writing

“If I tell you that the sink is filled with food-crusted plates, crawling with cockroaches, I don’t need to tell you much else about the room, do I? — Cheryl St.John”

writing

“If I write something, I find some place for it to go. — Terry Burns”

writing

“If it isn’t moving you, it isn’t going to move your readers. — Tim Shoemaker”

writing

“If my story is stuck, I have to get to know my characters better. — Kim Messer”

writing

“If only one line in the poem has energy, then cut the rest out and leave only that one line. — William Carlos Williams”

writing

“If the conflict isn’t emotional for the character, it won’t be emotional for the reader. — Cheryl St.John”

writing

“If the reader doesn’t care about your story people, he’ll never make it past the opening scene or the first chapters. — Cheryl St.John”

writing

“If the scene does little in terms of heightening the complications or furthering the plot or themes, consider summarizing instead — Laurie Alberts”

writing

“If there’s no conflict, there’s no story. … In order for the conflict to matter, we have to care. — Cheryl St.John”

writing

“If we can’t say it, we probably don’t know it. Once our desires are written they have a life of their own. — Thomas Harris”

writing

“If we hide from emotion, we get flat characters. — Ann Hood”

writing

“If you are a writer when writing, you also are a writer when you are cooking, sleeping, walking. — Natalie Goldberg”

writing

“If you can learn to hear the cadences of speech, the rises and falls of your voice, you can skip most of the rules and punctuate by sound. — Robert Pinkert”

writing

“If you care about being thought credible and intelligent, do not use complex language where simpler language will do. — Daniel Kahneman”

writing

“If you do not see a transformation in your own life as you write, then you have failed. — DiAnn Mills”

writing

“If you don’t know the basic structure of your storyline, you’re not really ready to start writing. — Syd Field”

writing

“If you find you’re not having fun with what your writing, don’t say, “This is not fun,” but rather ask yourself, “How can I make it fun?” — Susan K. Perry”

writing

“If you find yourself at a loss for what to write next, find a way to make things worse. — Steven James”

writing

“If you find yourself having trouble getting into a story you want to tell, it is always a good idea to get up very close and start using your senses. — Judith Barrington”

writing

“If you give your hero a weakness, you can use that to make his life more difficult. — Carole Bugge”

writing

“If you give your reader too many characters to care about, your readers may wind up not caring much about any of them. — Donald Maass”

writing

“If you must use a flashback, don’t do it in the first 50 pages of your book. — Jeff Gerke”

writing

“If you plan your story to engage your character’s emotions, you will engage your readers. — Cheryl St.John”

writing

“If you show me a car blowing up in scene one, I don’t care because I don’t know anything about the people who were in it. — Cheryl St.John”

writing

“If you steal from one author, it’s plagiarism; if you steal from many, it’s research. — Wilson Mizner”

writing

“If you view your characters as artificial constructs, so will your reader. — Linda McCullough Moore”

writing

“If you wait for inspiration, you’re not a writer, but a waiter. — Kim Messer”

writing

“If you want the reader to believe in your story world, you have to believe in the world you are creating. — Cheryl St.John”

writing

“If you want your narrator to sound like a child, you must not only choose the words a child would use but the details that a child would observe. — Laurie Alberts”

writing

“If you wish to be a writer, write. — Epictetus”

writing

“If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write things worth reading or do things worth writing. — Benjamin Franklin”

writing

“If you’re not putting words on pages, you’re avoiding writing. — Cheryl St.John”

writing