Writing Craft

The characters of a novel need to change throughout the novel.  This change or transformation is called the arc.  This change may be for the better or for the worse, but it must be.  And it must be manifested through the characters’

I didn’t know that Silvia was going to decide to pursue a career as an art teacher; or that Donna was going to change her mind about the family reunion; or that Cosmo was going to do a magic trick for Isabella at the party.  In

I’m very careful not to vilify or glorify characters.  Frank, the antagonist of Olive Branches Don’t Grow On Trees, is an abusive alcoholic, and initially, he is revealed only as such.  As the story progresses, however, we learn that Frank’s

There are stories everywhere around us and they are constantly happening.  Our job, as writers, is to look and listen for them, to take full advantage of our surroundings.  Every window of the apartment building across from my apartment building

Landscape is the backdrop against which the story falls.  It can be both entertaining and informative for readers.  Most importantly, it reveals the internal state of the protagonist. The protagonist perceptions of reality change according to

I could not have developed my voice as a writer had I not read many other writers throughout my life.  Now I read only those writers whose style I like so that they can influence my own style.  Some of my favorites include Flannery O’Connor,

What do the novels Huckleberry Finn, The Canterbury Tales and On The Road have in common?  All of these great works of fiction employ the literary technique known as the journey motif.  Although the journey that the characters of these stories

In my previous novel, Olive Branches Don’t Grow On Trees, the theme of my book was peace.  The primary plot was Silvia attempting to make peace in her own family, while the subplot was her finding direction in her own life.  Her finding

It took me awhile to cultivate my own voice, as I’m sure it takes all writers a long time.  It was not until I began writing on a daily basis that I began to hear my own voice.  I found that the more I wrote, the more my voice developed, and the

One review of Olive Branches Don’t Grow On Trees claimed that the ending of the book was inconclusive and that I left too many loose ends.  The ending is open and I intentionally left it open so that the reader could use his or her imagination