Reading a Writer's Mind

."..great coaching advice... ...a must for all creative writers..."

From initial idea, through the story itself, to a commentary explaining the decisions made during the creative process, "Reading A Writer's Mind" sets out the detailed thinking behind the writing of ten stories across a range of genres:

* Lyrical narrative v terse dialogue; using tone as a descriptive tool (Mainstream)
* Characterisation through deed and thought (Horror)
* A calendar structure using the Tell technique (Women's Fiction)
* The importance of pacing, and of duping the reader (Twist in the Tail)
* The use of alliteration, rhythm and subliminal detailing (Romance)
* Using the Show technique to elicit an emotional response (Drama)
* Building fiction using an unsympathetic narrator (Crime)
* Working with parallel storylines via past and present tense (SF)
* Conjuring the weird from the everyday (Fantasy)
* Writing for performance and sound effects (Historical)
* Editing: ten common problems explored

Linda Acaster is the author of 70+ published short stories, five novels, and a host of articles on the techniques of writing fiction. A past tutor for a UK distance learning college and a reader for a leading London literary consultancy, her instructional articles on the techniques of creating fiction have appeared in writers' journals in the UK and USA. "Exploring Short Fiction - First Thought To Finished Story" is the first in the "Reading a Writer's Mind" series.