By reading a lot of novels in a variety of genres, and asking questions, it's possible to learn how things are done-the mechanics of writing, so to speak-and which genres and authors excel in various areas. |
Crazy things sometimes happen. Do you get my drift? I can't say that everything in the story is completely and a hundred percent Christian. But these are human characters. |
F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and William Faulkner have fewer published novels combined than any number of contemporary novelists-Roberts, King, Koontz, Steel, etc. |
F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and William Faulkner have fewer published novels combined than any number of contemporary novelists-Roberts, King, Koontz, Steel, etc. |
Focus in on the genre you want to write, and read books in that genre. A LOT of books by a variety of authors. And read with questions in your mind. |
Having the book sell out of stores is far and away the most difficult step of all. Walk into a bookstore these days and scan the shelves. Thousands, sometimes tens of thousands of books, are competing with yours and the front of the store is dominated by brand-name authors. |
Hurricanes are part of southern history, remembered for the damage they caused. |
I do not use profanity in my novels. My characters all go to church. |
I don't know that love changes. People change. Circumstances change. |
I don't write fantasy, I write reality. Also, my novels have roots to Greek tragedies and as such, there has to be tragedy. |
I don't write romance novels, any more than Tom Clancy writes legal thrillers. Yes, I write about love and relationships and Tom Clancy writes a thriller, but what I do would not be accepted by romance publishers, since the romance genre has numerous requirements and I don't satisfy any of them. I write love stories, a completely different genre. |
I fully understand the Catch-22 with getting an agent: Agents want someone who's published before, but how can a person get published without an agent? As hard as it is, it happens all the time. All successful writers were once in the same boat you are, but they found a way to do it. |
I got hives it was so stressful. |
I had a very special girlfriend when I was younger-she is one of my wife's best friends now. |
I have certain moral parameters that I do not cross in writing; I don't write about adultery or kids having premarital sex. |