As readers, we come to a story wanting various things: titillation, adventure, drama, illumination. But what we need first is intimacy with another human being, so we can experience the story through him or her. We want to be so close to the action that we feel the...
Even if you're unfamiliar with the term, you might have already used the Gap technique in your writing, and if you've sat through at least one movie, you've seen it in action. Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" had us leaping like cats on the proverbial hot tin roof,...
When your characters speak, imagine a spotlight beaming onto the page. That's the power dialogue has to capture and focus the reader's attention. Spoken words illuminate personality and dramatize the scene, bringing it to vibrant life. But it's easy to diminish...
"I couldn't put it down!" Those are probably the five sweetest words a writer can hear—aside from "The check's in the mail." We all want our readers to devour us, breathlessly captivated to the end. In most fiction, this is accomplished through the opposing forces of...
We all have one in the drawer: that short story that just doesn't seem to sell. The plot's smart, the sex sizzles, maybe the theme even strikes resounding universal chords. Yet somehow it always lands in our "rejected" pile. There can be many different reasons why a...
In the movie "A Fistful of Dollars" Clint Eastwood blows into a troubled town as a drifter without a past — or even a name — and the film works. But your vibrant 3-dimensional character needs more, and there is likely something in his past that will add...
I recently read an article by the judge in an erotic fiction contest, and found her comments illuminating: While the 'sexy bits' in many of the entries were well-written and titillating, it was the tired, plodding plots that sent most stories to the "no" pile. In...
We know her the second she struts onto the page, or screen. She's hot, exciting and mean; the air around her crackles with dark energy. She might have a domme's treasure chest of dangerous toys, or she might only use her razor sharp mind to wield her distinctive brand...
A good story is filled with vivid imagery, similies and metaphors that invest additional meaning in the pictures you're creating in the reader's mind: he was as listless as an afternoon shadow in August; her eyes glinted with feline cunning. But a strong Central Image...
What is elegance? I've read several definitions — graceful, refined, tasteful — but my favorite came from my sister, a designer and all-around fabric genius: Elegance is doing the most with the least. The more I think about it, the more true that phrase...