Posts Tagged ‘fiction’

In his blog post of October 21, 2011, literary agent/consultant/author Michael Larsen says: “Every word in a nonfiction proposal has to be right. The sample chapter has to be as enjoyable to read as it is informative. The proposal has to generate as much excitement as possible in as few words as possible. But even that may be a small part of the challenge for arousing the interest of agents.”

Michael quotes Jack Canfield and fellow agent Rita Rosenkranz:

Chicken Souperman Jack Canfield says: “A book is like an iceberg: Writing is 10%; marketing is 90%.”

Rita Rosenkranz says: “… publishers aren’t buying promise, they’re buying proof.”

Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan here to say: “The same demands from publishers on authors of nonfiction also apply to authors of fiction. Why? Publishing is a business. Why wouldn’t publishers prefer to invest in best-selling authors and celebrity-authors?  These authors have fanbases. Fans buy books. You too have fans–in your circle of loved ones and friends. The secret is to build your fanbase and fortify it with a platform.  WHAT is a platform? Making your name stand for something—to attract targeted consumers who are likely to buy what you have to sell. What are you selling?  Your literary work.”

You can sneak preview the 2 exercises for Day 1 from my workbook, Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days, by clicking on this link:

http://www.amazon.com/Build-Writers-Platform-Fanbase-ebook/dp/B005J9ZEIA/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2#reader_B005J9ZEIA

Sincerely,

Coach Teresa

Teresa LeYung-Ryan says: “Reach out, not stress out, when pursuing your dreams!”

Writing Career Coach/Manuscript Consultant

Author of Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW (print edition & eBook edition)
Author of the novel Love Made of Heart (inspires adult children of mentally ill parents to speak openly about the stigmas and find resources for their families)

Thank you, ePublisher & eMarketer Leigh Anne Lindsey of SeaStorm Press, for reminding me to broadcast:

NBCC Awards Submission Process and Contact List for 2011 Books

Each year the National Book Critics Circle selects awards in six categories: Fiction, General Nonfiction, Biography, Autobiography, Poetry, and Criticism. Members of the Board of Directors nominate books. Each book that is championed by a board member is placed on a master list, from which the finalists (and ultimately the winners) are selected. Several times during the year I will request that you send copies of the books on the master list to the entire board for group discussion.

The absolute deadline for the 2011 awards is December 1, 2011.

For more information, please go to: http://bookcritics.org/awards/award_submissions/

Who is Leigh Anne Lindsey?

The Flaw in the Fabric, Book 1 of A Travellers Guide for Lost Souls ebook (soon in print); audiobook being broadcast on CKDU.ca & Podiobooks.com

Sincerely,

Teresa LeYung-Ryan

“Reach out, not stress out, when pursuing your dreams.”

http://writingcoachteresa.com

Also, Teresa is the author of Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW (ebook Kindle edition $9.81 print edition $22)

“Coach Teresa, what should I do before hiring an editor?”

Look at Your Manuscript with an Editor’s Lens

By Teresa LeYung Ryan

Writing Career Coach; Manuscript Consultant; Author

Since writing a story with the intent to engage the reader is so much like meeting a stranger and wanting him/her to be interested in you, you’d want to hook the reader’s attention in the first quarter of your story (starting with the first page, oftentimes with the first line).

I love working with diligent writers who want to transform their manuscripts into page-turners. However, there are things you can do before you give your work to an editor. Let me show you how you can help yourself.

The big four elements to look for in your manuscript:

• Planting hook(s) or story-question(s);
• Grounding the reader with the three Ws (Who? When? Where?);
• Showing (not telling) what the protagonist wants;
• Paying attention to language and rules

Let’s learn from the pros.

Planting Hook or Story-Question:

In The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts, Maxine Hong Kingston hooks us with the first line: “You must not tell anyone,” my mother said, “what I am about to tell you…” Then, Ms. Kingston transitions into her story with: “Whenever she had to warn us about life, my mother told stories that ran like this one . . .”

Grounding the Reader with the Three Ws:

In Woven of Water, while the story timeline spans from 1957 to 2005, Californian author Luisa Adams brilliantly shows us who she was as a girl (not with a year-by-year narrative, but with a single exquisite chapter). Because she grounded us with “who, when, where,” we eagerly follow as she (the middle-aged woman) takes us into her enchanted world of a “cottage in the forest.”

Showing What the Protagonist Wants:

In The Other Mother, young Carol Schaefer wants to ask questions: “Was there any way to keep my baby? Was there anyone who would help me find a way to do that?”

Elizabeth Gilbert hooks us with “I wish Giovanni would kiss me…” in her memoir Eat, Pray, Love. Simple as that.  She’ll have other desires as her story moves forward, but, right there on page 1, she’s clear about what she wants.

In Love Made of Heart, protagonist Ruby Lin is thinking: What have I done?  I watch the uniformed police officers escort my mother from my apartment.

Paying Attention to Language and Rules:

Read the first five pages of Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt and you will see how this wordsmith plays with language and rules. (You can “bend” the rules to create flow, but you must not ignore the rules.)

Are you saying: “Coach Teresa, that’s my style–I don’t like to use commas all that much. You might see typos but that’s your job right to correct them? I write like I talk. Okay.”

I say: “Read your manuscript out loud.  Do you really talk like that?  If you hear yourself pausing in a sentence, that’s probably where you’d put a comma. You are a writer; use correct spelling.  Do use vernacular that is indicative of your story-world; however, will your reader hear the differences in speech patterns in your characters OR will they hear just one voice in all the characters?”

Sentences Deserve Your Attention:

Remember Groucho Marx’s line “One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas…”? That sentence got a lot of laughs. But, what if you didn’t want to be funny (ambiguous in this case)? Watch out for those misplaced modifiers.

How would you rewrite these poorly constructed sentences?

• He likes to fish near the Farallon Islands and they jump when they’re hungry at dawn or dusk.
• She insists on knowing when I come home and leave, not to be nosy, but for safety reasons.
• Being cautious as not to step on the dog’s tail, the children tip-toed away from him while sleeping.
• My husband still in bed snoring, I have always enjoyed rising before dawn and I eat my toast and drink my green tea on the terrace.

To improve your sentence structuring and other skills, I recommend these books:

• The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White
• Woe is I: Grammarphobe’s Guide to Better English in Plain English by Patricia T. O’Conner

More Advice:

• In all the stories referenced above, the authors present memorable experiences by employing authentic details, unusual story-worlds, and poetic language. You want to do the same for your story.
• Also, the stories have another vital component–all the plotlines have what Martha Alderson, author of Blockbuster Plots, Pure and Simple, calls “Cause and Effect” linked scenes. Another must-read blog: Plot Whisperer
• When you’re writing non-fiction and do not have the luxury of rearranging the sequence of events to create a page-turning plotline, you can engage the reader by using concise expositions to leap over blocks of time in order to focus on the core themes and fast-forward the story. A helpful website: Linda Joy Myer’s http://www.memoriesandmemoirs.com
• You the author must show the reader what the protagonist wants, even if the protagonist doesn’t know at first.
• We don’t have to “like” a protagonist, but, we do need to connect with him/her on an emotional level.
• Read my colleague Vicki Weiland’s “Vicki’s Four Questions” © on her blog: http://vickiweiland.wordpress.com/vickis-four-questions-%C2%A9/

In the fiercely competitive arena of the publishing world, how does one stand out in a crowd? Building relationships is one key to success in this business. Another key is to know how to translate the themes from your life to your writing and articulate those themes as community concerns. I want to see all hardworking writers realize their dreams.

My best wishes to you!

Sincerely,

Teresa LeYung Ryan

Coach Teresa edits manuscripts for authors who want to attract agents  & publishers  OR  want to be their own publishers. She specializes in contemporary novels, thrillers, children’s & YA novels, memoirs, short stories, and anthologies.

22-Day Platform-Building Coach Teresa LeYung Ryan helps authors identify their themes to hook agents' and publishers' attention.

author of Love Made of  Heart

author of Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days

Writers of Fiction and Narrative Nonfiction,

I gave this assignment to a hardworking client who had trouble describing what his protagonist wants.

“Do I Know What My Protagonist Wants?”

The assignment was to watch three movies and write a one-paragraph description on each.  My client had chosen movies I hadn’t seen (which made the assignment a perfect exercise)–his summaries/teasers had to “sell” (make me want to see the movies).

Below each summary written by my client are my comments/suggestions.

D,

I am so proud of you.

Your summary of Black Swan is the way to write a pitch / a book jacket / and what I’d call “author’s story-track for self.”  Bravo!

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest: Hacker Lisbeth Salander has been hospitalized as a child for trying to kill her abusive father, Victor. Ultimately, she kills him and stands trial for murder in Sweden. Her protector and advocate is investigation journalist Michael Blomquist, who runs down a string of corrupt government employees and criminals who have created and allowed a string of child prostitution and sex trafficking rings. Salander is acquitted because of her intrepid physical and hacker skills and moves on to help jail those guilty for the sex crimes.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest: Hacker (replace “Hacker” with “Friendless” or an adjective that signals her emotional-state) Lisbeth Salander has? or had? been hospitalized as a child for trying (replace “trying” with “attempt-to-kill” her father. Ultimately (“ultimately” is vague; also need transition–how many weeks, months or years later; what inciting-incident compelled her to “not fail” in her attempt this time), she kills him and stands trial for murder in Sweden. Her one? protector and advocate is investigation journalist Michael Blomquist, who runs down a string of corrupt government employees and criminals who have created (delete: and allowed a string of)  an empire of child prostitution and sex trafficking (delete: rings). Salander is acquitted because of her intrepid physical and hacker skills (doesn’t make sense–she’s acquitted because of her skills? what’s her journey in prison?) and moves on to help jail those guilty for the sex crimes (would be even more compelling to add what she does for victims).

* * * * * * * * * * *

Black Swan: Ballerina Nina wants to be chosen as the greatest ballerina in New York most prestigious company, but is driven to perfection and to not only fulfill the role of the pure, virginal white swan but also the sensual, critical black swan while trying to please her obsessive stage mother and sexual predator director. When the director challenges Nina to lose control to play the Black Swan with the same ease as her rival, Nina’s self-destructive impulses take over with devastating consequences.

Black Swan: Ballerina Nina Sayers wants to be chosen as the (delete: greatest) principal dancer (delete: ballerina) in New York’s most prestigious company. She is driven by her stage-mother’s demand for perfection and the sexual-predator director’s bait to choose her over her rival . The message: “Not only fulfill the role of the sensual, (delete: pure), virginal white swan but also the  (what’s the opposite of virginal?) delete: critical _________” leads to Nina’s letting her self-destructive impulses take over with devastating consequences.

* * * * * * * * * * *

The Social Network: Mark  Zuckerberg is obsessed with being invited to the right finals club at Harvard, but since he is Jewish and a nerd he has no chance. The hacker genius piggybacks off the ideas of two other Harvard students to build Facebook as a way to meet and critique girls, and is sued by them and his best friend. Ultimately he realizes that people are addicted to the darker and lighter motives of his site and moves to Silicon Valley to build the greatest social network device ever.

The Social Network: Mark  Zuckerberg is obsessed with being invited to the right finals club at Harvard, but since he is a nerd and because he’s Jewish he has no chance. The hacker genius piggybacks off the ideas of two other Harvard students to build Facebook as a way to meet and critique girls, and is sued by them and his best friend. Ultimately (the word “ultimately” doesn’t replace the transitional-sentence to show what he does during the journey of being sued) he realizes that people are addicted to the darker and lighter motives of his site and moves to Silicon Valley to build the greatest social network device ever.

You used the word “ultimately” in the first and third summaries instead of using words to show what the Hero wants or his/her obstacles along the journey.  Your write-up of Black Swan is best because you tell us who the protagonist is, what she wants, who/what the antagonists are, and the hook–she’s an active main character. You used action-verbs.

Starting today, I’m going to be a tougher coach. You’ve proven to me that you can write dramatic sentences/summaries. I want a new summary (one paragraph) of your novel by tomorrow. Write it the way you wrote Black Swan‘s summary.

Also, I suggest your changing the working-title of your novel. Often a new working-title gives new energy to the writing.

Cheers!

Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan

Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW Available through Amazon.com   Check out the reviews!   Coach Teresa created the fun workbook to help fiction and nonfiction authors gain a competitive edge.  Whether you want to be your own publisher or sell rights to another publisher, attract readers and more readers now!   After you order Coach Teresa’s workbook, email her to receive an exclusive bonus on platform-building. Teresa’s email address is on her website WritingCoachTeresa.com

Need a model that demonstrates page-turning techniques? Order/click here:  Love Made of Heart through Kensington Publishing Corp. New York.  Reviews on Teresa’s book on Amazon.com  After you read Love Made of Heart, email Teresa and she’ll send you her “page-turning secrets.”  The document is only useful if you’ve read the book and can refer to pages. Coach Teresa’s email address is on her website WritingCoachTeresa.com

What does protagonist Ruby Lin want?

#####

Dear Writers,

I just submitted my application to become a contributing writer from Examiner.com (thank you, Yolande Barial, for the referral!  Read Yolande’s blog and article on Examiner.com).

Please use my blog to promote yourselves because Writing Career Coach Teresa’s Blog is getting over 17,000 viewers.  Tell my fans about your writing projects — by submitting a comment to this post. To do that, click on the blue title bar of this post, fill in the boxes, then press the [ submit comment ] button.  Need advice on writing and publishing?  Ask me–Coach Teresa.  Keep your questions short and sweet please.

•        Whether you want to be your own publisher or sell rights to another publisher, attract readers/fans now!

•        Whether you write fiction, narrative non-fiction or prescriptive non-fiction, you are THE expert of your experiences and an authority in your field.   Make your name synonymous with the themes/issues/subject matters in your book.

•        When you stick to a program, you develop new habits.  Let Coach Teresa show you how to gain a competitive edge.

•        “A platform is not what I stand on, but what I stand for.”

•        “Build your platform–22 minutes for 22 days.  Your writing career is worth the time.”

•        “Reach out, not stress out.  Help your fans find you!”

Sincerely,

Writing Career Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan

http://writingcoachteresa.com

Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW (the fun workbook that helps fiction and nonfiction authors gain a competitive edge before and after publication). See reviews on Amazon.

Hello Writers,

I am Teresa LeYung Ryan. My clients call me Writing Career Coach Teresa. Who are my clients? They are writers just like you:

• authors who have invested years writing their projects and needed to hook agents with a marketing pitch in their query letters.

• authors who have self-published their books, and deserve more readers.

• writers of fiction and nonfiction, tired of rejections, tired of publishers telling them that they don’t have a platform or fanbase.

What is a platform anyway?

Making your name stand for something—to attract targeted consumers who are likely to buy what you have to sell. Let’s hear that again.

Making your name stand for something (the themes/the subject matters/the issues in your writing)—to attract targeted consumers (people who buy the kinds of books you create ) who are likely to buy what you have to sell (your literary works).

Join the community of authors who write fiction (novels, short stories, graphic novels, novellas), narrative and creative nonfiction (autobiographies, biographies, memoirs, essays), prescriptive nonfiction (how-to books), poetry, speeches, and other genres . . .  and have gained a competitive edge with my workbook: Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW

What these authors have to say:

Ruth Silnes is a published author of three books, one of them a how-to book. Ruth says: “Thanks to Coach Teresa’s workbook I learned how to contact a star. Carol Channing wrote a review for my latest book.”

Kate Britton is looking for an agent for her novel; she’s also considering self-publishing.  She says: “Through Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days . . . you’ll find out some pretty interesting things about yourself and what your platform is really all about.”

Margaret Davis, a published novelist, says: “Instead of the usual pep talks, Coach Teresa’s workbook consists of a series of exercises which are thought-provoking, and always fun.”

Lynn Scott, author of narrative non-fiction (memoirs), says: “Coach Teresa is a whiz in the ways a writer can get noticed.”

Join these successful authors today!

Go to Amazon and search for Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days.  After you order my book, contact me through this blog post (click on the title bar of this post scroll down to get boxes, filled in the boxes, and click the “submit comment” button) and you will receive a free tip on platform building.

In the meantime, check out the resources at my website http://WritingCoachTeresa.com

I’ll see there!

And remember, “Reach out, not stress out.  Help your readers find you!” with Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days

Sincerely,

Writing Career Coach Teresa 

30th Annual Northern California Book Awards

When:  Sunday April 10, 2011, 1:00pm

Where:  Koret Auditorium, San Francisco Main Library, lower level, 100 Larkin Street (at Grove), San Francisco, CA 415-557-4277

http://sfpl.org/index.php?pg=1002986601

Categories:

Fiction

General Nonfiction

Creative Nonfiction

Poetry

Children’s Literature

Translations

My best wishes to all the nominees.

SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD

Indivisible: An Anthology of Contemporary South Asian American Poetry, edited by Neelanjana Banerjee, Summi Kaipa, and Pireeni Sundaralingam, University of Arkansas Press

Congratulations to Tamim Ansary–Afghan American writer, lecturer, editor and teacher who is the recipient of the FRED CODY AWARD FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT—COMMUNITY & LITERATURE.

Readers Bookstore will be selling books after the awards ceremony.

Author Elisa Southard tells me that Readers Cafe & Bookstore is located at Fort Mason Center, Building C, San Francisco.  I’ll visit them the next time I’m in the area.

Cheers!

Sincerely,

Teresa LeYung Ryan,

author of Love Made of Heart;

author of Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW

Thanks to Teresa’s book I learned to contact a star. The famous Carol Channing wrote a review for my latest book YOU and THE ARTS–Why Art Matters. Teresa’s book is a wonderful help in learing how to get good publicity.

* * * * * * * * * *

This book taught me a lot. It’s packed with information, and the presentations and exercises build upon what came before. It’s direct and clear and has plenty of instructive examples that plainly show the way, and how to get there. It’s like having your very own writing career coach with you at every step. This extremely helpful workbook has given me great preparation for building a platform. I enthusiastically recommend it.

* * * * * * * * * *

This book is written as a set of specific tasks. And I think that is what is so great about it. The author doesn’t spend 200 pages waffling and trying to convince you of something you’re already dying to do, but just don’t know how to execute. All you have to do is follow the directions. No analyzing too many options, no trying to out-think the huge behemoth that is publishing industry. It’s like having a friend take you by the hand, set you down on the right path, and then walk right along side you. The added benefit is that on the way, you’ll find out some pretty interesting things about yourself and what your platform (so essential these days for getting published) is really all about.

For me, having clear cut steps and directions is invaluable when it comes figuring out what I really want to communicate to potential readers and how to get my platform established.

I know. I’m a writer, newly finished my first work (okay, here I’m going to plug it) “Over the Edge,” a fictionalized memoir, told in nine episodes, which tells what it’s really like to live, run, and be a part of the street life.

Kudos and Thanks, Teresa

* * * * * * * * * *

Much has been written in the past year or two about the importance to writers of having a “platform.” Writers without a platform, we are told, find it difficult if not impossible to be taken seriously by agents and publishers. This ambitious book takes a new approach to building a platform. Instead of the usual pep talks, it consists of a series of exercises–22 minutes for 22 days– to build the reader’s self-knowledge and skill. The exercises are often thought-provoking, and always fun. For all writers who find themselves “stuck” when it comes to building a platform, this is a most worthwhile tool.
Margaret Davis, author of Straight Down the Middle

* * * * * * * * * *

Although I had already published my novel, “Husbands May Come and Go but Friends are Forever,” and set up my website when I purchased this playbook, I found lots of information and tips I hadn’t known. I especially liked the exercises which helped me identify where to spend my time and energy. A great road map to building your writer platform.

* * * * * * * * * *

Ms. Ryan gives us a huge building block toward getting our gems into print. I tried her original draft of this book, doing the exercises, and being amazed how much i could put into a platform. Now she has expanded this workbook richly. She is a whiz in the ways a writer can get noticed.
in all the confusing technology around these days, this book takes a novice carefully through the process to this end.

It is quite a bargain at $22.

Lynn Scott, Memorist,  A Joyous Encounter: My Mother, My Alzheimer Clients, and Me

* * * * * * * * * *

Is There a Book to Help Writers Build Platform and Fanbase?

Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW available through Amazon

Sincerely,

22-Day Coach Teresa LeYung Ryan
http://writingcoachteresa.com

Please click on the title bar of this post to see the comment box so that you can tell me, all my fans and your fans  3 or more book titles with authors’ names in your bibliography (whether you write fiction or non-fiction).

Day 11 of 22 – Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days

Cheers from Coach Teresa LeYung Ryan

Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW

http://writingcoachteresa.com

Coach Teresa’s YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/teresaleyung

I’m speaking as an editor/manuscript consultant. Whether you are writing fiction or narrative non-fiction, employing dialogue that not only represents each character’s personality but also gives clues  in an entertaining way will move your story forward.

How important is dialogue in a memoir or novel? Re-read your favorite story and study the author’s techniques.

When I’m not editing for my wonderful clients, I study dialogue in movies.
Since a script usually doesn’t offer narrative or internal monologue to supplement “words” the way a book does, dialogue (and how the lines are delivered) is an essential component in story-telling.  I love smart dialogue.

In the movie Woman Chases Man (1937), protagonist Virginia Travis, a starving architect (Miriam Hopkins) sees three portraits in the living room of B.J. Nolan (Charles Winninger).

Virginia:  (She sees a portrait of a little boy holding  Pilgram’s Progress)  “Who’s that?”

BJ:  “My son Kenneth.”

Virginia:  (She’s looking at the second portrait–a teenage boy holding the same book) “ Another son?”

BJ:  “Same one. Age sixteen.”

Virginia:  “Must be a slow reader.”

Virginia:   (She looks at third portrait–a young man in his cap and gown, holding diploma)  “I see he finished the book.”

BJ:  “Yeah, he has the checkbook now.”

Virginia:  “I had a checkbook once.”

The story is launched, with B. J. and Virginia scheming to get  Kenneth (Joel McCrae) to sign a check.  By the way, young Broderick Crawford’s portrayal of Hunk (friend of Virginia, disguising as B.J.’s butler) is hilarious.

Screen play by Joseph Anthony, Mannie Seff and David Hertz

Original story by Lynn Root and Frank Fenton

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

In Cold Comfort Farm (1995) screenplay by Malcolm Bradbury, from the novel by Stella Gibbons (1930s), protagonist Flora Poste (recently orphaned) moves to the country to live with her relatives so that she can live on her modest 100 pounds a year and be a novelist.  Flora’s relations are odd in deed.  The mysterious matriarch, Flora’s Great Aunt Ada, doesn’t leave her room because she suffers from a terrifying memory of an event. As a girl, Ada had seen “something nasty in the wood shed” and now decades later she still has recurring nightmares.  Flora is the first person to ask Aunt Ada questions, which serves as the turning point in the story.  As it turns out, Aunt Ada doesn’t remember what she saw. But she won’t let go of her suffering (or let her family leave the farm either).

Toward the end of the story when a movie Czar Mr. Neck comes to the farm to take her grandson Seth to Hollywood . . . Great Aunt Ada comes running out of the house . . .
Great Aunt Ada : “I saw something nasty in the wood shed.”

Mr. Neck:  “Sure you did, but did they see you Baby?”

Coach Teresa here.  I emailed my friend Margaret Davis (author of Straight Down the Middle) to ask her if she has seen the movie and Margaret replied:
“My mother had a selection of novels in our house when I was growing up.  I was an avid reader, and I read, and reread, many of them over and over.  I knew Cold Comfort Farm by heart!  I also enjoyed Stella Gibbons’s book Nightingale Wood (also knew it by heart as a child!), and I know my own writing is definitely influenced by her.”

Happy New Year & New Writing Energy to Everyone!

Remember to employ dialogue that not only represents each character’s personality but also gives clues  in an entertaining way to move your story forward.

Sincerely,

Teresa LeYung Ryan

Manuscript Consultant / Writing Career Coach / Author / Publisher

http://WritingCoachTeresa.com