If you are a music student, voice might mean voice training.

If you are a kindergarten student, voice might mean using your little voice inside the classroom.

If you are a medical student, voice might mean the voice box, the larynx.

The last words an author wants to read from an acquisitions editor or a reviewer are “slow-moving” or “It took me a while to get into the story.” Even worse is the lackluster “the heroine is a pleasant, attractive…” How about “failed to catch my interest”? Ouch!

Today’s readers are conditioned by television to get their entertainment in short bursts between commercials. This attitude spills over into their reading time. As millions of them read on e-readers, they catch a few minutes of reading time on the subway, in doctors’ or dentists’ offices, taking a break at their desks. When they do have an hour or two they want to dive into the story and live it.

Freshening Your Hooks
Should you let your readers off the hook? And if so, when? You are not going to actually tell me you think it's okay to let your reader off the hook, are you? Of course not. Never. Not until the very last period at the end of the story. On the other hand, sometimes your readers need a break from certain hooks. Be kind to your little fish. Don't keep dangling the same hook in front of your readers for too long. Eventually, they may lose interest in that hook, especially if you don't freshen the hook up from time to time.

Here are several ways you can freshen your hooks and keep your reader hungry for more.

We do love it so; the fine wine of metaphor and simile, the hard liquor of alliteration, the cold beer of personification and objectification. One descriptive sentence sounds and feels so good, the second even better, and by the third our judgment is as clouded as the after three margaritas on an empty stomach thinking that leads to singing Karaoke while standing on the bar and calling it a good thing.

We should note the additional similarity—a writer drunk on her own descriptive words and phrases feels much the same about them as she feels about her Karaoke performance while she’s singing more or less along. There’s little doubt that the reader of that kind of prose and the singer’s less-intoxicated listeners might not share those positive feelings.

Hi All
Just a quick progress note on the new site and some information about upcoming changes. We are always looking for ways to provide you with high value-low cost workshops and online classes and with these changes we've also added a cool new feature.

The new site is not quite ready, but we’ve decided to rollout the new forums in advance of the full site deployment. If you’d like to see how the new site is shaping up, you actually watch us build it here.

Just to be clear, it’s certainly not done yet, but we are putting the new structure in place and are testing the new site features as we go. We’ve actually had working forums for nearly two weeks now! WOOT!

Congratulations to all Savvy Authors!
This week’s first congratulation goes out to Savvy Author member Romy Sommer! The novel she wrote during last year's Entanged Nano Bootcamp, Waking up in Vegas, has sold to Harper Impulse, the new digital first imprint from Harper Collins. The book is one of ther launch titles and goes on sale in record time - on 9th May! Congratulations, Romy!

Susan Meier's book, THE TYCOON'S SECRET DAUGHTER finaled for a Rita, and her book, NANNY FOR THE MILLIONAIRE'S TWINS finaled for a National Reader's Choice Award. Congratulations, Susan!

“Dialogue is not conversation.” [McKee, Robert, The Story (Harper-Collins, at p. 388)].

And, if you think about it, would you really want to read dialogue between characters that mirrors real life conversations? Think about it. Real life conversations are filled with repetition, redundancy, hesitations, stammering, regional or generational colloquialisms, bad grammar, foul language … I could go on, but you get the picture. Real world conversations meander and, at times, are unfocused and often illogical. Real people talk a lot without saying anything meaningful.

In fiction, dialogue needs to be meaningful. An author uses dialogue to advance action and develop character. By pulling the reader into the action through believable and meaningful dialogue, the author is “showing,” not “telling.” Interesting and clever dialogue is so much more enjoyable to read than lengthy summaries of who said what to whom and who did what to whom.

Recently, I attended a writers conference where a well-known literary agent discussed branding, that concept of being known for one "kind" of writing. I duly nodded my head because I understood his point of focused marketability. Writers just starting out need to be known for "something" as a recognizable expert in a specialized form or genre. Anyone who goes to my website quickly tunes into the fact that I seriously write, market and teach in MANY areas. I don't dabble.

I seriously focus on being productive in many arenas and have for 28 years. That means I have educated myself on the needs and methodology of various genres and have a long resume of published/produced nonfiction, novels, poetry and dramatic works for stage and film. Each project was written with depth and intensity. Each project taught me something about myself and about the world. My own literary agent "brands" me as a "well-researched writer who creates intense relationship stories." That is kind of liberating rather than limiting. My passions are not limited.

You've read the basics of GMC. You need an external goal, motivation and conflict, and an internal goal, motivation and conflict. But all motivation comes from inside the mind or heart, right? So, all I really need is internal motivation.

Not so fast!

Because all true motivation comes from within a character's mind, external motivation can be easily confused with internal motivation, which is linked to deep, inner emotion. The motivation part might come from inside, but the push for this external goal come from outside the character. External motivation has everything to do with effecting a change in something outside the character. The character may benefit from or be affected by this change, or some other character may benefit from or be affected by this change, but the effect is outside the character. When you analyze the possible motivations for the character's external goal they may turn out to be simple acts of self-preservation. An external goal of getting a job, for example, may have a motivation of being able to buy groceries and pay bills. Those kinds of motivations are easy to figure out. We must all find practical ways to get through our days, provide for ourselves, and plan ahead for hoped-for achievements.