YWS: The Importance of Knowing Your Characters

Characters are an exceptionally important part of any story. Their actions and reactions to the circumstances in which they find themselves is what drives the story forward. Some authors write detailed character profiles to help them get to know the character better. Others might “sit down” with the character and conduct an interview. I tend to do a lot of … Read More

Omniscient Point of View

Last week I talked about head hopping and why we shouldn’t and I mentioned the omniscient POV (Point of View) as not being a part of the discussion. Head hopping means jumping from character to character and changing viewpoint. Omniscient is an unseen/unknown narrator who knows what everyone is thinking or feeling. I had the following question asked of me, … Read More

Why Not Head Hop?

In addition to working on getting my current WIP, Speak No Evil polished up and ready for submission, I have been working with several authors and guiding them through the same process, and reviewing other manuscripts and providing assessments. While assessing the manuscripts, I’m looking at voicing, structure, flow, the strength of the work, including active vs. passive writing. One … Read More