In the last episode we talked about major dialogue techniques.  Here are smaller ones--but still important techniques--that'll make our dialogue shine.  And: how does the best-selling novelist Jonathan Franzen work?  We'll find out.

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Dialogue in fiction is fun to write and fun to read.  Here are seven techniques that'll help make our dialogue shine.  Also, why should we create a character readers hate?  Because those characters can be riveting, and are a strong element in the story.   Here are some famous examples from novels, not main villains, but rather secondary characters who make readers groan when they appear on the page.

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Let's talk about stupid writing,  And: how to get our story going without over-explanation and back-story.  How John Updike and Frank Baum wrote.  And an encounter with Aphrodite in English 101.

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Here is a list of the fourteen biggest mistakes we can make when creating our scene, and how to avoid them.  Also, we'll talk about how to avoid the dull tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock metronome beat when writing sentences.  And: showing rather than telling about a character's personality.

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Adding a close friend for our story's protagonist offers many benefits.  Here are some thoughts on buddies.  And: how did novelists Willa Cather and Nathaniel Hawthorne work?  Plus, techniques for avoiding interior monologue when our character is alone in the scene.  And: should we write the story that's loudest in our head or should we aim for the market?

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Bland settings works against the story, and riveting settings propel the story forward.  Here are techniques for creating powerful settings that will engage the reader.  Also, the Wall Street Journal's interview of best-selling Ken Follett is fascinating, and here is some of it.

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Here are thoughts on how to avoid early mistakes in our writing,  those blunders we might make before we write the first sentence of our story.    Also, a couple of wonderful quotation about writing.  And: new technology tools to help us writers.

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Action is the most interesting element in most novels, and a fight is action.   Here are some techniques for writing a fight scene.   Also, here's an almost sure-fire way to prime the pump of our plotting, a way to invent more plot for our story.   And: thoughts about naming our characters.

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The first sentence of our story should suggest to the reader, "Come on in and listen."  A good first sentence propels the reader into the story, and here are some ways to write them.   Also: Stephen King's twenty important techniques for writing.

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Why should we keep a tie-up later list?   How to create one and their importance are mentioned.   And Angelou, King, and Tolstoy.  Also: should we plan a sequel?

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