I’d say a fair few novels were started at the beginning of January, so this might be a topical post. Prologues. The devil’s spawn, or perfectly acceptable literary device? Word on the street is that agents hate prologues. And some … Read More
Here’s a slightly contentious “rule” that I personally loathe, the “unattributed pronoun” rule. Don’t start a book with “he” or “she” without first having told the reader what the character is called, the rule goes. I think it’s a load … Read More
In the last part of this ‘show not tell’ trilogy we’ll analyse the following passage: “I knew Mum had told me not to, but I was really curious; I wanted to see inside. The shed was half falling down, and … Read More
In “Show not tell – Part I” I described the historical context, and why perhaps modern fiction has evolved the way it has. Before I go in to the nitty-gritty, the mechanics, I wanted to go off on one more … Read More
“Show not tell” – that old chestnut. Trotted out as a mantra at the start of every creative writing class you’ve ever been to. A large part of every “How to write a book” guide you’ve ever read. The single … Read More