What Character Arc Isn’t

Susan DeFCreative Writing, Writing resourcesLeave a Comment

I write a lot about character arc, and I talk a lot about it with my clients. Because if there’s a magic bullet for creating a novel that sucks the reader in, holds her attention, and ultimately makes her feel like it was worth the 6+ hours it took to read that book, character arc is it. Many writers are … Read More

What Makes a Novel Stand Out on Submission?

Susan DeFCreative Writing, ReadingLeave a Comment

There’s a lot of excellent advice on this blog for getting over the finish line with publishing a novel (and a lot of less excellent advice on the same subject elsewhere!). But to my mind, there’s something critical to that conversation that rarely gets discussed. I think because it’s so hard to actually talk about. A solid story, compelling characters, … Read More