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Over-Explaining in Writing and How to Avoid It

March 14, 2018

creativity, literature, over-explaining, patience, writing

Besides a linear narrative progression and not optimal narrative endings, another problem area for authors of fiction is over-explaining. By over-explaining in writing, we mean the tendency of a writer to provide too much factual information. This is usually detrimental to the overall pace of the novel, but it’s not the only repercussion, as we will see further below.

In today’s article I’ll show you where over-explaining in writing comes from (in other words, why fiction writers tend to over-explain), as well as how to avoid it. As a sneak preview, I could reveal that over-explaining in writing is very much related to an author’s relationship with their audience. In more detail, fiction authors who over-explain do so out of fear that their readers will not understand the story.

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Use of Tenses in Fiction: How to Pick the Right One

March 9, 2018

Fiction Writing Tips, Writing

change, creativity, grammar, literature, time, writing

The use of tenses in fiction (and writing in general) seems like a self-evident thing. You use the past tense when things happened in the past, the present tense when they happen in the present, and the future tense when they will happen in the future. It seems so simple, and yet picking the right tense at the right time is a crucial element for success in writing fiction.

You see, one major aspect that most writers don’t seem to grasp, is that a novel is not an exercise in writing “proper” English. Instead, a work of fiction is a necessary medium for an author’s thoughts to reach an audience. As a result, rules are secondary; affect is primary.

Still, even within a “playing-by-the-rules” context, the choice of the right tense isn’t always an obvious thing. In today’s article I’ll let you know how to pick the right tense at the right time. By “right”, we mean the tense that allows affect to be expressed. We are not concerned about “proper” English. We are concerned about affective power.

use of tenses in fiction — Often in photography it’s not about what you show, but about what you don’t. It’s the same in narrative, and choosing the right tense can be crucial about “nudging” the narrative in the proper direction, temporally and emotionally.

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How to Pick a Title for Your Novel

March 4, 2018

Fiction Writing Tips, Writing

book, book title, creativity, writing

As a fiction author, perhaps finding a title for your novel isn’t very difficult. After all, quite often writers begin with the title as a first thing. Of course it might later change, but rarely does a writer work for long on something called “untitled”. However, picking just any title and picking the right title can be two crucially different things. There are several aspects that affect your choice of a book title, and today we’ll talk precisely about that. In this article, I’ll show you how to pick a title for your novel.

First we’ll see what makes a title good or bad, and what “good” means in this context. Then I’ll give you some concrete tips on finding the perfect title for your book. There are basically good news and bad news: The good news is that only you can know whether a title for your book is the right one. You will just know it, once you think of it. The bad news, maddeningly enough, is that… only you can know whether a title for your book is the right one. I will show you the how’s and why’s on how to pick a title for your novel, but the choice can only be yours.

How to Pick a Title for Your Novel — Finding a title for your book can be difficult. Recommendations can assist, but nobody but you knows when the right title quasi-magically has arrived

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