Narrator Perspective
Through whose eyes are we seeing the story? This is a critical question that the novelist and the narrator of the story must answer. Is it told through the author’s eyes, the eyes of a single character, or through the…
Lem
Dr. Lem Moyé, M.D., Ph.D. is a physician, epidemiologist, and biostatistician. After receiving his M.D. at the Indiana University Medical School, he completed post-doctoral training at Purdue University and the University of Texas. Dr. Moyé has conducted federally sponsored research for over 30 years, including 12 years investigating cell therapy for heart disease. He has published over 220 manuscripts, 15 books including three novels, and has worked with both the US FDA, and pharmaceutical companies. Dr. Moyé has taught graduate classes in epidemiology and biostatistics for three decades and has served as an expert witness in both state and federal court. He served as a volunteer physician during the Hurricane Katrina calamity, and his memories of that experience led his prize winning book, Caring for Katrina’s Survivors. A cancer survivor, he is retired and living in Arizona with his wife Dixie.
Lose Your Worst Scene
This is the article I hated to write. In writing a novel, you find yourself writing a scene for which you had great enthusiasm, You expect that it’s going to be an integral part of your book, either providing additional…
Make Every Chapter Your Best
Common lore is that when our readers pick up a novel, they study the book cover and read the first chapter, deciding whether its enticing. If it is, then they buy the book. I’ve spoken about this philosophy before,…
Bring Your Characters to Life and Listen to Them
There are complex and detail questionnaires created for authors to describe their characters. Beginning with the most important question, “what is the character’s role in this book?” They then move down through physical descriptors (how tall are they? Are…
Plan Your Book
I am told that for several of his books, Stephen King didn’t lay out the novel a priori. He developed his characters and then placed them in the scene, letting them do what they’re going to. Sometimes the book ends…
Practice, Practice, Practice
It is said that physicians have to train for 10,000 hours to become competent practitioners. The same for lawyers. The same for hockey goalies, and baseball pitchers. The same for military masterminds and chess masters. The same for physicists and…
Do Your Homework
You have a great idea for your novel. You’ve developed the characters with good complex relationships over weeks. You know the two or three themes that the novel will explore.. And you have the perfect location for it, the Aegean…
Make the Reader Leave their Life Behind
When the reader opens a file or picks up a hard copy of your book, they are entering into a tacit contract with you. Their part of the contract is to put their life on hold. They’re not going to…
End Your Scenes with Energy
Writing a novel is preparing to engage in a fight, not with the reader but with the reader’s attention. Readers are continuously pulled away from your writing. Their cell rings. They get a text message. They just received a deluge…
Practice Your Scene Before You Write
So when I’m ready to write a scene’s first draft, I have much on which to rely. I know the purpose of the scene, and I know its setting (an Indiana field in the spring, the Situation Room in the…