Subtlety—Speaking the Real Truth
Subtlety allows readers to think something else is going on, something hiding, something faintly suggested.
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J.J. Richardson
- Oct 10, 2022
- 8 min
Description: Up-close and Personal
Beginning writers must learn that their readers can’t visualize what the author sees and feels unless the author tells them.
800
J.J. Richardson
- Sep 27, 2022
- 6 min
Obsession with Violence
What happens when opposing views come into conflict? That’s when trouble appears.
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J.J. Richardson
- Apr 4, 2022
- 6 min
Sincerity
How can we impart knowledge, wisdom, and kindness to our relatives, friends, neighbors, and coworkers, without sincerity?
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J.J. Richardson
- Mar 13, 2022
- 5 min
The Ubiquitous I
A common problem beginning authors have when writing in first person is to overuse the word, “I.”
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J.J. Richardson
- Oct 7, 2021
- 11 min
Top-10 Paragraphs
Why are there numerous sites devoted to Top-10 Movies, Top-10 Fiction Books, and Top-10 NFL players, but none for Top-10 Paragraphs?
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J.J. Richardson
- Jun 30, 2021
- 5 min
Stop Asking Me Questions
It's your job as the author to answer questions, not the reader's.
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J.J. Richardson
- May 31, 2021
- 4 min
How to Get My Characters to Act
Few articles are written about how to get fictional characters to act. This article explains how to do it.
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J.J. Richardson
- Jan 5, 2021
- 6 min
How to Make Fiction Magical
A story that is not relatable is of little use to anyone no matter how clearly it is written.
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J.J. Richardson
- Dec 8, 2020
- 3 min
Don't Make Me Ask Why
Critiquing other people’s manuscripts of fictional works is fun for me because I start off with a declaration saying, “My comments are my...
540
J.J. Richardson
- Nov 21, 2020
- 2 min
We've Talked About This
When I’m reading a story, and one character says to another, “We’ve talked about this,” my mind is thrown from the story.
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J.J. Richardson
- Feb 19, 2020
- 5 min
Slippery Smooth Writing
If you accelerate or decelerate unevenly while driving a vehicle, your passengers will feel jerked around. Don’t jerk your passengers.
1330
J.J. Richardson
- Jan 18, 2020
- 6 min
What is Good Fiction?
When your prose is effective, your readers will become someone else in a different time and place.
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J.J. Richardson
- Feb 6, 2019
- 4 min
Internal Conflict
For years, critics kept telling me my stories didn’t have enough conflict. Reviewers would write, “Your characters have it too easy.”
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J.J. Richardson
- Sep 7, 2018
- 3 min
Voice: Your Writing Style
Every author has what literary experts call voice. It took me years to realize that voice simply meant the author's unique writing style.
430
J.J. Richardson
- Aug 9, 2018
- 5 min
Readability
As you write every sentence of your story, read each one aloud and ask yourself, “Is this sentence easy to read, and is it enjoyable?”
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J.J. Richardson
- Jul 23, 2018
- 2 min
Why Sidekicks Outshine Main Characters
I've noticed throughout my study of literature that sidekicks and supporting characters are more interesting than their main counterparts.
840
J.J. Richardson
- Jul 5, 2018
- 2 min
Wiggling the Spider Web
Pieces of your themes must be touched upon repeatedly—wiggled—so your readers will keep in their minds the central messages of your tale.
450
J.J. Richardson
- Jun 23, 2018
- 3 min
When Can I Break Rules of Fiction?
Before you can successfully break a grammatical or well-established rule of fiction, you must first master the rule.
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J.J. Richardson
- Dec 28, 2017
- 5 min
Characterization
The subject of characterization has brought me stress for many years because everyone has a different idea of what characterization means.
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J.J. Richardson
- Jan 14, 2017
- 2 min
Hiking and Writing Fiction
Hiking is like writing fiction. Once you agree with me on this point, your writing will improve. So will your hiking.
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J.J. Richardson
- Nov 29, 2016
- 10 min
Avoid Clichés Like the Plague
Isn’t it true that many Hollywood movies lately are remakes, sequels, or based on fifty-year-old comic books?
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J.J. Richardson
- Nov 17, 2016
- 4 min
Journey of 1,000 Interesting Steps
With a bit of skewed math, we can squeeze a decent novella out of one thousand sentences.
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