Author: Peggy Bechko

Peggy Bechko: Good Writing Starts, Bad Writing Starts

starting-out

by Peggy Bechko

I think as writers we pretty much get the concept that if we want a reader to continue reading we have to hook ‘em good. And that means we need to interest them, fascinate them, confuse them with questions, whatever it takes, right from the very beginning.
In the ‘olden’ days of writing the writer could get away with setting the stage, of going on at length with backstory and set up. But, as writing is an evolving thing you won’t get away with that now. It won’t work for novels and it especially won’t work for that new-fangled media TV and movies.

One of the biggest mistakes a new writer can make is to underestimate the ability of the reader to grasp what’s going on. No, it’s not necessary for you as the writer to give minute detail on a character’s background (he was 14 when he started smoking, then joined a gang, then ended up in jail, then found redemption, then got out of jail – all to end up where he is now) so the story can proceed.

Instead, it’s imperative to jump right into the ‘action’ of the story (I don’t mean a car chase or a saber duel, I mean what’s pushing the story forward). Then, fill in necessary bits and pieces of backstory as the story moves forward. read article

Peggy Bechko: I Know All Those Words – The Writer’s Confusion

Eraserby Peggy Bechko

“I know all those words, but that sentence makes no sense to me.”
 ? Matt Groening

How many of us have been there when we’re reading? You read a sentence, then read it again, then shake your head. If the book or script is good otherwise you may well try continuing to read, hoping you won’t run across another sentence like it, or you might give up. For myself, I plunge on as soon as I can sort the meaning out, but be warned writer, do it again and you’re likely to lose me as a reader.

As a writer, those kinds of sentences are horrifying. Especially if you wrote it! I doubt there’s a writer out there who hasn’t been rereading a piece he or she’s written and paused, did a double take and wondered, ‘what was I thinking?’ It’s kind of a scary zone to be in and it just re-emphasizes the need to reread time and again. And if possible, ask others to read as well.

And may I add, reading out loud doesn’t hurt either when making sure the material you’ve written actually reads smoothly and makes sense. It’s all part of keeping readers in the wonderful fantasy trance they enjoy when picking up a book to escape with. read article

Peggy Bechko: The Writer’s Influence

oscarwildequote

by Peggy Bechko

There are many many quotes about writers, writing and the imaginary world writers create. Quotes about how reading and writing affect us, what reading means to us, the joy of fascinating communication.

One of my favorites is by Oscar Wild –

“It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.”? Oscar Wilde read article

Peggy Bechko: Writers Love Their Readers

writerlylove

by Peggy Bechko

And not surprisingly they want them to keep reading.

So what is it that might make a prized reader just stop reading, set the book aside, give up? Fantastic to hear your book kept a reader up all night, okay to know they stick in a bookmark and take a break, just awful and nightmarish to think that reader won’t pick the book up again.

So why don’t they pick it up again? read article

Peggy Bechko: Developing Good Writer’s Habits

DESKTOP - STANDING DESKby Peggy Bechko

Writers write, right?

Sounds easy. But not so fast.

It takes dedication, discipline and some good habits to see any writer thorough. From writer to writer they differ, but there are many writers have in common. read article