Margie Lawson There’s a lot of commotion about getting emotion on the page, but getting it right is tricky. Most writers do a great job getting in their POV character’s head, telling how they process emotions. Writing thoughts. But most writers aren’t great at sharing their POV character’s physical reactions, showing how they experience emotions […]

Margie Lawson We at WITS are so happy to have Margie back with us, after a too-long hiatus!  Wisdom ahead! Ready for two treats? First Treat: This blog is loaded with examples of power, power, power. The kind of power that boosts your writing toward contracts and awards and bestseller lists. Second Treat: I’ll deep […]

Margie Lawson Writers know the cautions about backstory. I’d bet every basic how-to book for writers warns against overwhelming readers with too much backstory. Backstory usually kills pacing. Backstory usually kills momentum. Backstory usually kills your chances with an agent or editor. What is backstory? It’s story history that the writer needs to know to […]

Margie Lawson When people talk, subtext happens. Every time. You can’t say one word without sharing subtext. Subtext for dialogue: The psychological message behind the words. When the words and the subtext are incongruent, the truth is in the subtext. In the real world, we factor in subtext all the time. On the page, we […]

Margie Lawson Most writers know Show Don’t Tell, but sometimes they think they’re showing when they are telling. Here’s my oh-so-easy check. Read the sentence that you think SHOWS the reader something. Ask yourself ---- What’s the Visual? You may be surprised that the sentence doesn’t provide a visual. Wondering why I care? Wondering why […]