Today’s quote comes from David Harris Ebenbach musing on plot in the book from Gotham Writers’ Workshop WRITING FICTION: “Works of fiction are not, and cannot be, about a million things–they are usually about just one thing. And that thing, the force that draws everything together in a successful piece of fiction, is a single, pressing question.”
Tag: commercial fiction
Does Your Story’s “Equation” Add Up?
As an author, 2010 is my year of collaboration. I’ve been working with former CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson on a female-driven espionage action thriller. At times the process has included input from our two literary agents, select editors, a film agent, and various sub-rights agents on other continents. Needless to say, I’ve had story mechanics for highly commercial books on my mind. In my work as a coach and consultant, I read manuscripts on a regular basis. Often, I can identify what’s working–or not–within the first 20 pages. Assuming you are aiming to sell to a publishing house, your …