by Stephanie Dethlefs | Sep 7, 2021 | First Draft, Planning your book, Revision, writing craft
When I think of tension in a story, my first thought is of suspense. We are waiting for something to jump out of a dark corner or for the final confrontation between hero and villain. Our bodies are tense, preparing for what my 13-year-old son calls “the jump-scare.”...
by Stephanie Dethlefs | Aug 31, 2021 | Book Coaching, Mindset, Planning your book, Revision, writing craft, writing life
The idea of the elevator pitch comes from the old Hollywood days. Back then, a writer might happen to find themselves on an elevator with a studio exec. The wisdom was, you should always have a pitch for a movie ready when that happened. You have the executive stuck...
by Stephanie Dethlefs | Aug 24, 2021 | Book Coaching, First Draft, Inner critic, Mindset, writing craft, writing life
I once heard the author Elizabeth Gilbert say, and I’m paraphrasing here, that a reader would likely find more of herself in her works of fiction than her works of memoir. The truth is that all writers bring themselves to their stories, no matter if the story is...
by Stephanie Dethlefs | Aug 10, 2021 | Mindset, Reading for Writers, Revision, writing craft, writing life
You’ve likely heard the nugget of wisdom that to be an effective writer, you should also be an avid reader. This is true for many reasons. You get sparks of ideas. You understand how a story is structured. You internalize what is effective and what isn’t. You grow...
by Stephanie Dethlefs | Jul 6, 2021 | First Draft, Revision, writing craft
Have you heard the phrase “show, don’t tell”? Have you ever had a reader suggest that you “show” as scene rather than just explain it? And have you wondered what the heck they mean or how in the world to do it? The concept of showing vs. telling is really overused and...
