Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “In preparing for battle, I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” I know Eisenhower was referring to preparing for battle, but to me, it works for writing as well. For plotters his quote could be interpreted as the plot that was planned might be useless, i.,e. […]
BookShop West Portal Display at SF Writers Conference
Neal Sofman of Bookshop West Portal sets up tables at the SFWC to sell books written by the presenters, attendees, and volunteers. This table is one of three at the Mark Hopkins Hotel where the conference is held every year. https://www.bookshopwestportal.com Photo credit for Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan http://writingcoachTeresa.com Teresa LeYung-Ryan’s book Love Made of Heart is […]
Writing Tips from Authors Cara Black, Laurie King, and Penny Warner
My previous post told about the three panelists at one of the San Francisco Writers Conference sessions I attended this year.The authors spoke about “Heroes & Villains: Building Compelling Characters for Crime Fiction.” The following are some notes I wrote from what each of them and the moderator, Kate Chynoweth, said. Penny Warner said she […]
Heroes & Villians Compelling Characters in Fiction
One of the sessions I attended at the San Francisco Writers Conference was called “Heroes & Villains: Building Compelling Characters for Crime Fiction.” Kate Chynoweth, who is the head of the self-publishing division at Girl Friday Productions where she is executive editor, was the moderator for the panel. Three well-known authors […]
Quote by Pauline Kiernan About Backstory
“Your character’s backstory should feel to you that it doesn’t ‘end’ where the story proper begins. It needs to still be there, under the surface. And if it’s strong enough it will help immeasurably in creating a powerful (story).” Pauline Kiernan is a screenwriter, award-winning playwright, and Shakespeare scholar. “Pauline is interested in exploring themes […]
Yiyun Li Tells Writers to Eavesdrop on Their Characters
Yiyun Li, in her keynote speech at the San Francisco Writers Conference, said we should eavesdrop on our characters and their lies, lies to other characters and to us. When asked how to eavesdrop on them, Li said to let them be and see what they do. The author is like a translator and listens […]
Penny Sansevieri
Penny Sansevieri spoke at the San Francisco Writers Conference. I went to three of her sessions. She is the Founder and CEO of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., and a widely recognized book marketing and media relations expert. She is the author of fourteen books including How to Sell Your Books by the Truckload on Amazon […]