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Author Archive

Life’s Intrusions

{ Posted on Jul 29 2009 by Allison Lane }

Tags : Allison Lane, inspiration, Personal Life, Plotting, Writing, Writing Life
Categories : The Inclined

Life is in a constant state of flux. While I’ve loved watching our city’s peregrine falcons for the past few months, the chicks are now fully fledged, catching their own food, and mostly scattered to distant places. Only ...Read More »

Into the Mist

{ Posted on Jul 15 2009 by Allison Lane }

1 Comment

Tags : Allison Lane, Books, Craft, editing, outline, Revision, Seat of the Pants, write, Writing
Categories : The Inclined

I just finished one of those high/low weeks I always hit when writing a book. The high was finishing the first draft. The low was embarking on step one of the revision process. I’m what’s called a seat-of-the-pants writer. ...Read More »

GMC — the Trust Dilemma

{ Posted on Jul 01 2009 by Allison Lane }

1 Comment

Tags : Allison Lane, Characters, Craft, GMC, goals, write, Writing
Categories : The Inclined

As happens often when authors gather, I fell into a discussion on GMC last week – for those who haven’t heard this term, it stands for Goal, Motivation, and Conflict, which collectively form the basis of all successful storytelling. ...Read More »

Writing Outside the Box

{ Posted on Jun 17 2009 by Allison Lane }

1 Comment

Tags : Allison Lane, boundaries, genre, marketing, Plotting, romance, Writing
Categories : The Inclined

Here I go again, writing myself into a hole. One of the problems I’ve always had is that, while I write books marketed as romance, they always contain a secondary plot that is either mystery or suspense. Sometimes ...Read More »

How Much Research?

{ Posted on Jun 03 2009 by Allison Lane }

1 Comment

Tags : Allison Lane, Research, Writing
Categories : The Inclined

When writers of historical fiction get together, one topic that often arises is research. Not just the nuts and bolts of where to find specific information or which source is more reliable, but the general topic of how much ...Read More »

Characterization Isn’t Just for Heroes

{ Posted on May 20 2009 by Allison Lane }

2 Comments

Tags : Allison Lane, characterization, Craft, write, Writing
Categories : The Inclined

The current chapter isn’t going well. The action feels right. My hero is behaving in a solidly heroic fashion. But the villain is starting to sound clichéd, which means I don’t understand his motivation well enough. ...Read More »

Can’t See the Forest for the Trees

{ Posted on May 06 2009 by Allison Lane }

1 Comment

Tags : Allison Lane, Books, Plotting, Writing
Categories : The Inclined

When I checked our local falcons’ web cam this morning, I did a double take. Since I knew from loop messages that the chicks had just eaten breakfast, I expected to see a white, fluffy huddle with a beak ...Read More »

The Dreaded Backstory Dump

{ Posted on Apr 22 2009 by Allison Lane }

3 Comments

Tags : Allison Lane, backstory, Characters, Writing
Categories : The Inclined

Words had been flying onto the screen for nearly two hours when my fingers suddenly came to a screeching halt. I gulped, reviewed the 20 pages of rough draft I’d just written, then groaned. No wonder it had ...Read More »

Pacing Pitfalls

{ Posted on Apr 08 2009 by Allison Lane }

1 Comment

Categories : The Inclined

One of my chores last weekend was to shelve the stack of keepers I’ve accumulated over recent months. Since my 144 shelf feet of keeper space is full, adding anything means getting rid of older books – which explains ...Read More »

Writer’s Block & Falcons

{ Posted on Mar 25 2009 by Allison Lane }

2 Comments

Categories : The Inclined

To me, springtime has meant peregrine falcons ever since a pair started nesting on city hall several years ago. I keep the video window open in a corner of my computer screen so their antics can entertain me. They are ...Read More »

Author Archive

Life’s Intrusions

Into the Mist

GMC — the Trust Dilemma

Writing Outside the Box

How Much Research?

Characterization Isn’t Just for Heroes

Can’t See the Forest for the Trees

The Dreaded Backstory Dump

Pacing Pitfalls

Writer’s Block & Falcons

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