One of the elements that separates good writing from the boiler-plate stuff is the quality of the characters. I remember picking up one of the first local novels ever published in my neck of the woods—one that was being devoured by all my students (think Twilight, but on an even more grass-roots basis and without [...]
The Perfect Thing
Whenever we watch a movie or talk about a book, G gets this wistful look and complains that people in stories always know exactly what to say. I’ve stopped pointing out that this may be due to the fact that good published dialogue is put together word by word by professional dramatists who write it [...]