Category Archives: Character

Writing Tips: Trusting Your Reader

Posted on February 14, 2012 by dbjackson

Recently, while reading through a wonderful short story written by a Master’s student with whom I’m working, I found myself writing a comment in the page margin that rang all too familiar.  The student had just had one of her … Continue reading →

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Writing Tips: Character Development Starting Points

Posted on February 7, 2012 by dbjackson

Aspiring writers are often told that they should “write what they know,” which I’ve always felt is a strange bit of advice for people trying to make their way in a profession founded upon feats of imagination.  And to my … Continue reading →

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Ethan Kaille’s Diary: 3 February 1765

Posted on February 3, 2012 by dbjackson

On Monday and Wednesday, I shared with you the first two in a series of entries from a day journal belonging to Ethan Kaille, thieftaker and conjurer, whose life and work in Colonial Boston are the subject of the upcoming … Continue reading →

Posted in Boston, Character, Ethan Kaille, History, Mystery, Short Fiction, Thieftaker, Urban Fantasy, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Ethan Kaille’s Diary: 1 February 1765

Posted on February 1, 2012 by dbjackson

On Monday, I shared with you the first in a series of entries from a day journal belonging to Ethan Kaille, thieftaker and conjurer, whose life in Colonial Boston is the focus of the upcoming Thieftaker books (beginning with Thieftaker, … Continue reading →

Posted in Boston, Character, Ethan Kaille, History, Mystery, Short Fiction, Thieftaker, Urban Fantasy, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Ethan Kaille’s Diary: 30 January 1765

Posted on January 30, 2012 by dbjackson

As I noted in a post on the first of this year, I recently came across a day journal belonging to Ethan Kaille, thieftaker and conjurer, whose many adventures in Colonial Boston are the subject matter for the upcoming Thieftaker … Continue reading →

Posted in Boston, Character, Ethan Kaille, History, Mystery, Short Fiction, Thieftaker, Urban Fantasy, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Writing Tips: More on Dialogue — Conversations As Narrative

Posted on January 27, 2012 by dbjackson

The other day, in my first Writing Tips post, I wrote about said-bookisms and the challenges of dialogue attribution.  Just to reiterate, the key to effective dialogue attribution is showing readers the emotions and thoughts of those characters who speak … Continue reading →

Posted in Character, Ethan Kaille, Friendship, Novels, Publishing, Short Fiction, Thieftaker, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Writing Tips: Said-Bookisms, the Obscure Sin that Can Doom a Manuscript

Posted on January 25, 2012 by dbjackson

I’ve been writing professionally for more than fifteen years, and I’ve been reading avidly for far longer.  Over the years the publishing market has seen sea-changes in almost every respect, with ramifications for the business, the very act of reading, … Continue reading →

Posted in Character, Ethan Kaille, Novels, Publishing, Reading, Short Fiction, Thieftaker, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Ethan Kaille’s Diary: January 1, 1765

Posted on January 1, 2012 by dbjackson

In researching the life and times of Ethan Kaille, thieftaker and conjurer, whose many adventures in Colonial Boston are the subject matter for the upcoming Thieftaker books (beginning with Thieftaker, book I of the Thieftaker Chronicles) I have in the … Continue reading →

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Writing Short Stories in the THIEFTAKER Universe

Posted on October 11, 2011 by dbjackson

I often advise aspiring writers to step away from their novels now and again and work on short stories.  Why?  Well, for one thing, writing successful short stories is challenging.  The short form demands an economy of style that those … Continue reading →

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