Love your language – Page 3

We interrupt this scene for…

I just finished reading a novel where every single scene followed a formula: a few lines of dialogue, followed by a paragraph describing the history of the building the conversation was taking place in, then some back story, then back to the conversation. So it was something like this: “What are you doing?” Hubby asked.… Continue reading We interrupt this scene for…

Reading like a writer, part two

I love close reading. There’s something about taking a short passage from a novel or poem and examining its parts that really appeals to the nerd in me. So, last week I put up two passages from two very different novels (but both novels I love) that show dialogue between men. I’m pasting the passages at… Continue reading Reading like a writer, part two

Reading like a writer: Dialogue between men

One thing I’ve learned in my very, very short time as a reviewer, is that it’s much easier to figure out why a story doesn’t work than why it does. Of course, this only holds true with reading other people’s work. I’m often blind as a bat when it comes to my own. So I… Continue reading Reading like a writer: Dialogue between men

Elmore Leonard’s rules for writing

A couple weeks ago I wrote about the Guardian article on the Ten Rules for Writers, which featured Elmore Leonard’s writing advice. Last night, The Culture Show on BBC2 reran an interview with Elmore Leonard from 2006, where he talked about writing. Here’s a link to the video on the BBC’s website, but you might… Continue reading Elmore Leonard’s rules for writing

“Said” is alive and well

My eighth-grade English teacher had us all chanting “Said is dead.”* It’s a good thing that was at a Christian school, where I learned resurrection is possible. I remember reading Stephen King’s On Writing yonks ago. The one piece of advice that stuck with me is that “said” is the best of dialog tags. On Joanna Bourne’s… Continue reading “Said” is alive and well