Creating a memorable story requires more than a toolbox of techniques.
If you feel you have to write the perfect first sentence before you can go on, you will never get beyond it.
A story is a chain of cause and effect, with the end being the final link in that chain.
Don’t be fooled by the enormous volume of novels out there: writing one is a huge undertaking.
‘Where do you get your ideas from?’ is the question most often asked of writers.
It is through your characters that readers experience the story; they are the actors bridging the world you create and the world of individual imaginations.
All stories – even a joke (which is, after all, a short, short story) or anecdote – must have a beginning, middle, and end.
Dialogue is selective. It is not reported speech which is usually full of inanities, repetitions, and often involves people talking over each other.
Choose the setting to reflect the style of the story as well as the time/era in which it is set.
I like my novels to have hidden meanings; different levels at which they can be read.
