Frankisms

“If you’re really helping someone in pain—if you’re really experiencing compassion—you can’t help but hurt, too. — Jeff Goins”

writing

“If you’re serious about learning to use emotion, first learn about yourself and the things that affect you deeply. — Cheryl St.John”

writing

“If your character’s greatest fear is being alone, make it seem as though no one is there for him in the time of need. — Cheryl St.John”

writing

“If your characters solve something without a setback, you do not have a story. — Steven James”

writing

“If your life is so full of other things that you don’t have time to write, then writing isn’t a priority and you’re not a writer. There’s nothing wrong with that, but face that fact. Don’t tell me you don’t have time to write. — Harlan Coben”

writing

“If your research doesn’t lead you physically through the historic countryside where your stories actually took place, you may miss much of the needed inspiration for your intended work. — James Thom”

writing

“If your story is packed with confrontation and tension and complications and surprises and twists and cliffhangers and emotions, you just might have a shot at a writing career. — James Scott Bell”

writing

“If your summary pretells something that the scene will show, it will weaken rather than strengthen the scene. — Laurie Alberts”

writing

“If your writing is to have depth, texture, meaning, and endurance, it must go beyond what others see. — Cecil Murphey”

writing

“In a novel, the conflict must be so compelling, the reader notes the stakes—and a high risk of failure. — DiAnn Mills”

writing

“In attribution, “said” is an invisible workhorse. Never worry about repeating “said” a number of times. — William Brohaugh”

writing

“In choosing a point of view, the author implies an identity, not only for the teller of the tale, but for the audience as well. — Michael A. Banks”

writing

“In combination, humor and sadness add depth, dimension, and emotional resonance. — Linda McCullough Moore”

writing

“In essence, twists pull the rug out from under readers but give them an even better foundation to stand on. — Steven James”

writing

“In good dialogue, dialogue with subtext, the characters aren’t responding to what the other person says, but to what they think the other person means. — Jeff Gerke”

writing

“In life our eyes tend to stop at the surface. We’re so consumed by our own needs, conflicts, and daydreams that we rarely manage to take a step back and coolly observe what’s going on inside other human beings. — Robert McKee”

writing

“In order to have conflict, your character must have a goal and his goal must be believable. — Cheryl St.John”

writing

“In real life we rarely use the name of the person we are speaking to, and the listener’s name should occur just as infrequently in your dialogue. — Gary Provost”

writing

“In the best stories, the inciting incident sets in motion a chain of events that shapes and reshapes the protagonist, so that he comes out as a different person at the end. — Carole Bugge”

writing

“In the end, writing is a naked thing. — Natalie Goldberg”

writing

“In writing, your audience is one single reader. I have found that sometimes it helps to pick out one person—a real person you know, or an imagined person—and write to that one. — John Steinbeck”

writing

“Inability to speak is overcome by thinking of your audience and what you want to tell them. — Robert Pinkert”

writing

“Indulging in one or more prewriting habits is often how you’ll get yourself into the proper frame of mind to write. — Susan K. Perry”

writing

“Infected by the disease of over-qualification, we are afraid to use a strong metaphor or an analogy. — Theodore A. Rees Cheney”

writing

“Internal conflict is what gives the plot significance and keeps the characters emotionally at odds until the end of the book. — Cheryl St.John”

writing

“Introduce the hero in a way that fosters immediate character sympathy. — Eric Edson”

writing

“It doesn’t matter whether you get published, although your odds are strikingly higher if you have written something as compared to having written nothing. — Alan Weiss”

writing

“It is good to examine words and feel their dignity inside us like a breath or heartbeat. — Natalie Goldberg”

writing

“It is not enough to use language that may be understood. He should use language that must be understood. — Quintilian”

writing

“It is not the road that keeps us reading but the inner life of the traveler. — Donald Maass”

writing

“It is with words as with sunbeams. The more they are condensed, the deeper they burn. — Robert Southey, 1774–1843”

writing

“It takes honesty and courage—and an amazing level of maturity—to look at your own work with an objective eye and see how you can make it better. — Cheryl St.John”

writing

“It takes planning and hard work to pull off a strong, emotionally charged book. — Cheryl St.John”

writing

“It’s a damn good story. If you have any comments, write them on the back of the check. — Erle Stanley Gardner, note on submitted manuscript”

writing

“It’s almost impossible to differentiate between the gut feeling you get when you’re reading a fabulous book and the feeling you get when you’re reading a manuscript written by a close friend. — Lisa Cron”

writing

“It’s difficult if not impossible to motivate a character to grow and change if his or her system of survival has not yet broken down. — Dara Marks”

writing

“It’s essential that you truly respect your readers and assume they’re at least as smart as you are. — Steven James”

writing

“It’s not easy—nothing about writing is easy. There are no shortcuts to this sometimes tedious or frustrating process, but with determination and the right tools, we can create memorable characters and take pride in a job well done. — Cheryl St.John”

writing

“It’s not enough to include a strong hook in your novel’s first sentence—or even the first sentence of each chapter. Also include a hook in the last line of each scene. — DiAnn Mills”

writing

“It’s not important what’s happening. What’s important is how your character is reacting to it. — Cheryl St.John”

writing