Fiction to DIE for

I’m developing a series of writer workshop presentations, under my pen name, Judith Graves. Judith is a paranormal sort of writer chick – so there’s definitely a gothic tone happening in these initial planning sessions. I thought I’d post a few of my ramblings – yes, I will be taking my own advice adding details, examples and then slicing these babies down to size. ;) ‘Cause, hell, I’m still learning how to write killer fiction…aren’t we all.

Anyway, here are a few tips on writing fiction to DIE for:

Dreadful Details

Readers desire to escape, to be immersed in another world – another life. To achieve this, the author must vomit out all the strange, dramatic, stark, perplexing, dreadful details that make their characters, settings, plot – the only world the reader cares about. This can not be done with vague impressions, throw away descriptions, and clichéd personalities.

Infectious Incidents

Each incident of action, or inaction, your main character faces must further infect his/her world, spreading like a puss-filled rash into every aspect of their lives, cranking the conflict to toxic levels. At their last gasp, your character’s prognosis must be clear – either they do X, or they die (or some part of them does).

Evil Edits

Edits and revisions are the necessary evil of all writers. No good writing comes without the swipe of an author’s reaper-ish scythe – hacking and slashing through the filler, or the maniacal re-working of plot lines and scenes. Edits may be writing’s dark side, but every author must face their own work and see its flaws in order to dig deep and bring their tale into the light.

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Yeah, so that's kind of the intro. Next post - how to get under your character's skin (see what I did there?!) and summon those dreadful details to the surface.