Author: Stan Shinn

Some examples of melodrama that annoys, from The Master's Artist. My favorites:

Coincidences that supposedly matter.
Courtroom confessions.
Trite sermonettes that ignite weepy epiphanies.
The judo chop to the neck that drops the villain.

Joel Miller--senior editor at Nelson Current--just posted an entry called, “Book Publishing and the Market.” In it he says,

Because I have so few publishing slots, I’m supposed to be the king of cynics, the Simon Cowell of books, e.g.: “I’m sorry, but it’s really bad. Really, really bad. Honestly.” Sentiments to that effect are communicated all the time. I’m nicer than that, of course. But book proposals are many, actual slots on the list are few. My job is similar to Cowell’s; I’m supposed to filter through the many to find the few. But it’s right at this point where everything gets difficult.

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Movie makers have many cinematography options available to set mood and tone -- from the tight camera angle used to create fear and suspense, to the musical score playing in the background, to other elements such as lighting and cross-dissolves.

In writing, you're usually restricted to black characters on a white page, with only bold and italic characters to highlight your phrases. There are many other elements the writer can use to set tone and mood, and to convey to the reader the emotion you want to represent on the written page.

One technique is something I call the 'offset phrase.' Imagine having the page queue a dramatic crescendo of music, or adding a yellow highlighted underline to a word or sentence. We don't have those elements, but we do have the ability to offset a phrase.

Like this.

When you want to make a point or highlight words, don't let them dangle, lost at the end of a lengthy paragraph. Add in the paragraph break and put the few words, often a sentence fragment, all by themselves on a new line that is a standalone paragraph.

Take this phrase from my short story, "The Glass Kiss":

Even after identifying the body and fighting the shock and tears, she couldn't come to grips with the awful truth. Kevin was dead and wasn't coming back. Ever.

So she'd thought then.

At which point the reader's imagination cues the Norman Bates' shower scene shrieks made famous by Alfred Hitchcock.

Vickie McDonough on the value of critique groups:

I can say without a doubt that I'm published today because of the help I've received from my critique group partners. They've encouraged me when I wanted to give up on writing. They taught me to show, not tell. I learned point of view from them, and they've become my friends. Most of my experience with critique groups has been positive, but that wasn't always the case.

Especially helpful are Vickie's list of the key things you want critiquers to look for in your manuscript.

Read full article at the Spirit-Led Writer