BOOK: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing a Novel
BOOKS To start off my new blog, I'll post my required reading journal. The first book is by my current mentor in the Seton Hill WPF Program . I probably reference this book at least twice a week, mostly because I have issues with setting, or my conspicuous lack thereof. Tom says to establish the setting early and let the reader know where she is before you start into the story specifics. You would think that after writing fourteen chapters I would remember this. The problem is, I’m one of these people he refers to in his Style section who ‘prefers the loose look of watercolors’ as opposed to the ‘precise, realistic lines of pen-and-ink.’ You know what he would say to that? 'The key…is balance.’ Balance also happens to be the first sub-heading in the Setting section, so I suppose that shows its importance. Here he gives the perfect recipe for story advancement: 1. Mix your action, dialog, and description of setting. (the ingredients) 2. Remember to use your passage...