Have you ever read a book where you felt like you were actually living the story with the character? Have you read one where the character felt remote and lifeless? I can guarantee the reason for both is showing vs. telling. Telling is the old style of writing—the reader is an overseer in the room,… Continue reading 5 Ways to Turn Showing to Telling
If you’re writing a novel, you need a setting. If you’re writing a fantasy novel, your setting needs to be an epic world. Whether you’re writing fantasy, historical fiction, or even something in your own backyard, you need to immerse the reader in that world without drowning them. There are a lot of novels… Continue reading 5 Ways to Build an Epic World
In this excerpt from my time-travel short story, Mason gets some advice from a famous painter.Mason spent the night under Botticelli’s roof, along with the apprentices and under-artists who lived there. He lay awake through the few hours left before dawn, casting about between the wonder of where and when he was, and the heart-bursting… Continue reading Tuesday Critique: Botticelli’s Story
In this excerpt from my work in progress, a time travel story set in Renaissance Florence, Alessa has just met Mason, and has seen a portrait of herself that has yet to be painted.Alessa couldn’t feel as sorry as she ought. Oh, Matteo was trying as hard as possible to make her feel sorry, appealing to… Continue reading Tuesday Critique: Alessa’s promise
In this latest excerpt from my Renaissance time travel story, the hero meets a hero of his own, the artist Botticelli. Please feel free to share any feedback, as honest as possible. :)Mason recognized Sandro Botticelli easily from his self portrait, picking him out from his apprentices at once. A man of around forty, with… Continue reading Tuesday Critique: Mason Meets a Master
Here's a new excerpt from my time travel story set in Renaissance Florence. Hope you like it! 🙂 Please feel free to comment and critique. Mason stepped into the garden, feeling as though he’d just entered Eden. Birdsong and the trickle of fountains mixed with the sough of the wind through a million leaves. The… Continue reading Tuesday Critique: In the Garden of San Marco
Here's something I just hammered out for a potential story. I'm planning on making it a time travel. Please let me know what you think! :)Love at first sight always seemed a ridiculous concept to Mason Caro—till it happened to him.Well, maybe it was still rather ridiculous, he amended, tilting his head to examine the… Continue reading Tuesday Critique: The Painting
Here's a first look at an upcoming short story entitled "Sensible Advice". Let me know what you think! :)The best advice is no advice, Jane thought privately to herself as the conversation raged on around her, now self-propelled. She never ceased to marvel at the way they could start by asking her a simple question… Continue reading Tuesday Critique: Sensible Advice
It might be a little early for Christmas, but I just wanted to share my newest title: my contemporary Christmas romance short story "Practice Makes Perfect" is coming out in the anthology Christmas is in the Air in time for the holidays. Here's a little bit about it: Lily Archer is working on Christmas Eve,… Continue reading Thursday Titles: Christmas is in the Air
Here's a third helping from my latest work in progress, a sequel to my Regency short story A Gift Unsought. This will probably be the last one, at least for a while, as I'm starting nanowrimo on Friday. With the family dressed and occupied with welcoming the guests to the ball, all but the footmen… Continue reading Tuesday Critique: A Letter Unsent #3
Erin E. M. Hatton 