Throwing SHADE at Your Sentences

Ciao, SEers! Yeah, I know "throwing shade" is an insult. I promise, that's not what I mean. I just wanted to get your attention. Do I have it? Great! When I was in school, we learned about the four types of sentences: declarative (statement)interrogative (question)imperative (command)exclamative (exclamation/shout of surprise) Our teachers told us we could …

Shock vs. Subverted Expectations

Ciao, SEers! The last two times I chatted with you, we were talking about clichés in fiction, namely in horror and in mystery and sci-fi. After revealing potential solutions, we discussed the fact that the common element in the solutions was that they all subverted the readers' expectations. Today, I want to discuss the difference …

More Genre Clichés

Ciao, SEers! Last time, we talked about clichés in horror and how to fix them. This time, we're going to look at stereotypes in two more genres and ways to turn them around. Mystery Title of the book is "the character in the place (often vantage point)" i.e. The Woman in the WindowSolution: Find something …

Clichés in Horror

Ciao, SEers! Last time, I went over the three elements of a horror story as defined by Orson Scott Card---dread, terror, and fear. To read that post, click this link. Sticking with that theme, today, I thought I'd continue with ways to make our horror fiction stand out by discussing clichés in the horror genre. …

Three Elements of Horror

Ciao, SEers. We've rounded the corner and are in the second half of the year. Even though we're in the heat of summer, for me, as soon as we hit July, I feel fall coming (my favorite season of the year) and that means it's time to start thinking about all things autumn. You're probably …