Breaking Bad has invaluable lessons for storytellers, regardless of whether you’re writing fiction, graphic novels, or screenplays. Let’s break down the first episode to understand what makes this masterpiece work. 1. Start with Action It’s a great idea to start fast in the middle of the action. Breaking Bad opens with wild driving of an […]
I’ve been working as an editor with Jim Roberts for many years now, and it’s so wonderful for him to get the validation and honor of having his debut short story collection published by Belle Point Press. (It’s also a finalist for “Book of the Year” by Foreword Reviews!). He’s truly a wonderful writer, full […]
Ah, the dreaded comp titles. You know you need two similar books to your own when you send a query to a literary agent, but how are you supposed to find them? And how can you figure out which ones to choose? I’ve helped a lot of authors land agents over the years, and I’m […]
Guest post by E. S. Foster What do you know other than writing? While it’s the norm to specialize in one area and perform one specialized set of skills, understanding the mechanics of fields outside our typical scope can be highly beneficial. You can’t just be a writer. You have to know another field. Being […]
A full solar eclipse will be visible in Mexico, the United States, and Canada on April 8, 2024, and I’m thrilled about it. The last one was in 2017, and I took my five-year-old twins and drove all the way up to Oregon and camped in a field to watch it. It was one of […]
Every member of my book club has decided to list our top 25 novels of all time, and in the spirit of that disclosure, I decided to make mine public here at Bookfox. A list of the most important books is like a horoscope reading of your soul. Give me someone’s list, and I’ll tell […]
I did not read as many books as I would have liked this year, but I still read 70. That’s a dip from last year’s total of 100, but in my defense, I did midwife a number of books of other authors through developmental editing and publishing. I also finished editing my own novel, which […]
“In my life there are many silences,” wrote the novelist Juan Rulfo, “and in my writing, too.” It’s important to think about how your story uses silence. Most of the craft of writing focuses on all the noise — the dialogue, the cacophony of the senses, the action. But silence is not just an absence, […]
School visits are an important source of income and exposure for most children’s book authors, but if you haven’t been in a classroom in awhile, reaching out can be intimidating. (What if you say something wrong and end up in the principal’s office?) As a veteran teacher of 17 years, I’ve seen my share of […]
So you want to start a children’s book, and you’re faced with a blank page. Where do you begin? Well, the first line of your children’s picture book is the most important line. It sets the tone for the rest of the book, and grabs the reader’s attention. Mess it up, and the reader, either […]
