Articles:

• Critiquing Tips
• Dialogue Tips
• Estimating Word Count
• Manuscript Format
• Point of View
• Writing Contest Tips
• How to Avoid the Top Ten Mistakes in Writing Synopses

Manuscript Critiquing Services
by Pam McCutcheon

Writing Books by Pam McCutcheon:

Writing the Fiction Synopsis:
A Step by Step Approach

Most writers hate writing synopses, and no wonder.   After you've agonized over several hundred pages to make your prose absolutely perfect, how could you possibly distill that down to a measly ten or twenty pages?   Or, in some cases, one or two pages?  Writing the Fiction Synopsis, takes the reader, regardless of genre, through a step-by-step process and explains what’s vitally important to put in the synopsis...and what you should leave out.  (Available from Gryphon Books for Writers, ISBN 0-9654371-1-6, $18.95 hardcover, or you can order it through Author, Author! bookstore.)  Click on the cover or link above for more detailed information.

The Writer's Brainstorming Kit:
Thinking in New Directions  (with Michael Waite)

Give your creativity something different and inspiring to play with.  Use the 50 cards and concepts in this book to break out of your conventional mode of linear thinking for fresh new approaches to plotting and characterization.  (Available from Gryphon Books for Writers, ISBN 0-9654477-0-2, $24.95, hardcover with 50 cards, or you can order it through Author, Author! bookstore.)  Click on the cover or link above for more detailed information.

Recommended Books on Writing

(click on book titles to order them)

• 20 Master Plots (And How to Build Them) by Ronald B. Tobias.  If you're having problems coming up with a plot, this might help you get started.

• Aliens and Alien Societies by Stanley Schmidt.  A writer's guide to creating extraterrestrial life-forms for those writing science fiction or futuristic romance.

• The Career Novelist by Donald Maass.  A literary agent offers strategies for success.

• The Complete Writer's Guide to Heroes & Heroines, Sixteen Master Archetypes by Tami D. Cowden, Caro LaFever, and Sue Viders.    If you haven't got a clue where to start in developing characters, you might try some of their archetypes on for size.  Helps to flesh out existing characters and shows how archetypes interact as well.

• Dangerous Men and Adventurous Women edited by Jayne Ann Krentz.  This is a marvelous collection of essays describing the appeal of romances.

• Goal, Motivation, and Conflict: The Building Blocks of Good Fiction by Debra Dixon.  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.   I use Ms. Dixon's technique every time I plan a novel.   Whether you're a beginning writer or multi-published, you need this book!

• How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy by Orson Scott Card.  Whether you're writing SF, fantasy, or incorporating these elements in a romance, this book will give you lots of useful information on do's and don'ts.

• Manuscript Submission by Scott Edelstein.  In case my tips weren't enough, here's a whole book on the subject.

• Screenplay by Syd Field.  A step by step guide from concept to finished script.  Though written for screenwriters, it's a good reference for plotting novels, too.

• Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Dave King and Renni Browne.  Provides just what the title says—a great collection of tips to edit your own fiction.

• Story by Robert McKee.  Though written primarily for screenwriters, this book provides interesting insights into the process of storytelling.

• Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight Swain.  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.  Everything you could possibly want to know about how to write a novel.

• True Blue:  An Insider's Guide to Street Cops for Writers by Lynda Sue Cooper.  If you need to know what it's really like being a cop, this book is for you!

• The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. A wonderful book on plotting and character growth using Joseph Campbell's analysis of the hero's journey.

• Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass.  The title says it all.

• Writing the Fiction Synopsis:   A Step by Step Approach by Pam McCutcheon.  My book! Finally, someone explains how to write the dreaded synopsis.

• The Writer's Brainstorming Kit: Thinking in New Directions by Pam McCutcheon and Michael Waite.  My book! Give your creativity something different and inspiring to play with. 

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  Recommended Reference Books

  • The Chicago Manual of Style, University of Chicago Press.
  • The Elements of Style, by Strunk and White.
  • Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition.
  • The Synonym Finder by J.I. Rodale.
  • 2003 Writer's Market.  Lists markets for selling your fiction, including publisher requirements.

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  A Few Publishers

  • Dorchester/Leisure Books/Love Spell
  • Gryphon Books for Writers
  • Harlequin/Silhouette
  • Kensington/Pinnacle/Zebra
  • Random House

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