Aspiring Novelists

Currently, I'm reading Full Dark No Stars and Under the Dome , by Stephen King  Although I'm enjoying the books, I couldn't help but notice his voice and style has changed. Some readers in the following Discussion forum- Stephen King ,  attribute this to two different periods in his life.  They argue that his earlier works were the product of alcohol and substance abuse, while the later ones were from his post rehab period. Whatever the reason, I definitely see a  difference in his writing.  At the very least, it lacks the rawness I remember in Salem's Lot, Misery , It,  Needful Things, The Shining and The Stand ,  Not only did these novels make for an interesting read, but also a unique one.  Although the plots were chaotic and overloaded with exposition, the characters were distinct enough to make up for any shortcomings in the writing. In stark contrast, F ull Dark No Stars and Under the Dome are free of  the aforementi...

Hello all, hope you've had a productive week. Mine was interesting. Recently I visited a blog where the author reported it took a year to complete their novel.  I scratched my head, wondering how the heck they did it.  I could see a first draft in this time frame, but to finish the work in its entirety, seemed impossible. Curious to see if this was the exception or the norm, I googled popular authors like Stephen King and Stephanie Meyer.  Needless to say, it's the norm.  King usually writes a draft in six months.  He puts it away for a year then re-writes it. Meyer took six months to write her first novel, Twilight.  Their efficiency and expediency motivated me to try a new approach to writing. Normally, it takes about a month to complete two chapters (if I'm lucky).  I write and edit,then write again, then edit again, until I feel the piece is pristine. Seriously, I cannot move forward until the draft is good as I can get it.  The...

Hello fellow bloggers, hope you had a productive  week   Mine has been devoted to writing a love scene. I really struggle with these, or in the case of this post, am insecure about them.  Not because I'm uncomfortable with romance, but mainly because building sexual tension between two people, in prose, is difficult.  Too many cheesy euphemisms for body parts or  flowery phrases, can  make a scene more comical than romantic.  Not enough of them and the character's seem wooden and one-dimensional. Vanes Hart at The Romance Studi says love scenes should reflect the character's emotions and reactions to the intimacy, without giving the reader a play-by-play on every touch.  Well, this is easier said than done.   I've devoted the last three days to the scene in my book and I'm still not sure it's right.   Have any of you struggled with  love scenes?  If so, I'd be interested in to know how you overcame the pr...