Author: Peggy Bechko

Peggy Bechko: At The Speed of Writing

speed-racer_go_logoby Peggy Bechko

Have you ever just sat around and thought about your writing? I know, I know, you’re busy, you have lots of stuff to write and little time to get it written.

But seriously, sometimes if we just step back a few paces and give ourselves time to evaluate what we’re doing and how we’re doing it, things could flow a lot easier.

I’m not advocating in depth analysis, but rather, taking a deep breath and having a look around. read article

Peggy Bechko: Six Don’ts When Ending Your Story

by Peggy Bechko

You’ve written a great story and now you’re coming to the end; time to wrap it up, keep it tight and really give it some punch. Ending the story can be harder than many other aspects of writing it because there are traps we writers tend to fall into. So here are a few to keep your sharp writer’s eye out for.

happy-endings

  1. Now is not the time to introduce new characters or heaven’s forbid a new subplot. Anything new cropping up at this point should have been foreshadowed long before, even if it was a subtle and mysterious reference.
  2. Don’t think your ending should be some grand philosophizing on your part, that now is the time to muse about the universe or give some lengthy explanation of what has gone before. Boring. Now is the time to keep description tight and maximize the conflict of your story and the action surrounding it. If you’ve written well you’ve planted all the little bombs along the way. Now’s the time to let ‘er rip.
  3. Avoid gimmicks. Now is not the time to do a quick twist and a trick ending that’s quirky. Unless you’re desperate for that final twist and have laid the ground work for it don’t just toss it into the writing mix like a wrench in a clothes dryer.  It’ll sound just as ‘clunky’. Your reader, whether editor, producer agent or book reader has stuck with you because you’ve engaged him or her. Don’t throw in something so out of context that he or she resolves never to read your work again.
  4. Don’t pass up the opportunity to tie up loose ends you know every reader is going to want to have resolved. Consider every question you so carefully planted along the way and address them in some fashion; even if just to let them know it is something that will be left hanging.
  5. The end of the story is not the time to suddenly change your voice or your attitude or have a character suddenly do something totally in opposition to everything else that character has done previously. Unless you foreshadowed it all that will do is make the ending sound contrived and slapped on – like you couldn’t figure out how to end your story.
  6. Don’t think you can slip past resolving the central conflict of your tale. Happily ever after isn’t necessary, but do try to have the conclusion be somehow a positive. And if your hero has been doing a balancing act between good guy and bad guy give him a way to redeem himself. Readers mostly want to feel uplifted at the end of a book or a movie. Rarely does a totally dark ending work out well.

That’s it. My suggestions for the day. Hopefully it’s some food for thought when you’re working on that spectacular ending and you’ll bring home a really strong closer.

Peggy Bechko: Sitting Or Standing – A Writer’s Dilemma

by Peggy Bechko

You’ve been hearing all about it I’m sure. The Pros and the Cons of sitting vs. standing while you work, and there are a lot of them. DESK 2

Generally one side says you have more energy, your brain functions better and you feel better if you stand while working.

The other side says, but the heart has to pump harder, you’re asking for more varicose veins and other downers. read article

Peggy Bechko: eBooks and The Reader and Writer

by Peggy Bechko

kindleHey, I’ll bet you already knew or guessed that Ebooks are changing reading habits all over the place. It’s sort of a tidal wave and I spotted an article onUSA Today  printed just this month that confirms it with statistics. (We all love statistics, right?)

Numbers, percentages?

All that’s great, but what it all boils down to is the simple fact that more people are reading (wow, Is that great or what?!), more people are writing, more people own EReading devices and the ways in which they discover their reading materials are changing as well. Fewer people prowling the aisles in bookstores (probably not so good for the bookstores and we sure want to keep them). More people learning about books at places such as Goodreads.com, Amazon.com, local libraries who ‘lend’ digital editions and other locations (good for Ecommerce). read article

Peggy Bechko: Three Writing Lessons I’ve had to Learn

by Peggy Bechko

Writers are different. All of us. We have different approaches and different methods of carrying through – or not. There are many lessons to be learned as we write, publish, create scripts and find option and production. So many that they would fill pages.

That’s pretty overwhelming so I’ll stick to three biggies for now.lesson-learned

1. Preparation is essential. I know, I know, you’ve got this GREAT idea and you want to jump right in, have fun, get that first draft cranked out. But trust me on this. If you don’t choose a direction, prepare yourself, do what research is necessary, a direction will be chosen for you and in all likelihood that will be in circles. read article