From Our Blog
Prologue at Your Own Risk: When to Use Them and How to Make Them Work
A prologue is an introduction to a literary work that comes before the main narrative of the story. Its purpose is to provide information to the reader that is not readily apparent in the first chapter. Simple, right?
Anyone who has been writing novels for a while can tell you that the debate on prologues is fierce. Many of us writers refuse to include them, while the rest of us adore t…
You can never read the same story twice. Some of us complain about returning to earlier favorites only to find they’ve been rendered unreadable by visits from an imaginary being called “the Suck Fairy.” The Suck Fairy brings to our attention the unfortunate assumptions our favorite authors made as they created their fictional worlds: the racism implicit in Tarzan’s superiority over Black Africa…
We’ve all had that experience of stepping into an elevator, realizing you’re in there with an editor or an agent, and he or she asks you what you’re working on. As you stammer out your long-winded answer (starting off with the classic “Well, it’s complicated”), the moment ends (i.e., the elevator door opens) and said editor or agent goes their way. Could you have made use of that opportunity by…
Interview: Assuring the Authentic Voice in Modern Literature
In January 2020, the novel American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins hit bookstores after months of positive reviews and being selected to Oprah’s Book Club. Then Latinx critics called out the book detailing a Mexican bookseller crossing the U.S. border to escape a drug cartel as perpetuating harmful stereotypes. Cummins is not Mexican, although claims Puerto Rican heritage, and critics repeated what th…
Red Herrings & Plot Details: How to Keep Track of Them & Not Leave Them Hanging
In fiction, the term “red herring” is a technique designed to distract the reader by introducing misleading information. It’s a false clue, meant to deceive, before the truth is revealed.
Take a look at your latest story. Have all your plot twists been resolved? Do you have any red herring plot threads that you overlooked? There’s nothing more frustrating than finishing your book, tweaking ever…
Although often attributed to Winston Churchill, the origin of the phrase “history is written by the victors” is unknown. Nonetheless, the sentiment is true and something to consider when writing about diversity, past and present. It is a fundamental tenant of the mindset one should have when diving into the scholarly record. I wish to take you into my philosophy of how I approach history, peopl…