Mind the Gap: great writing advice from the London tube system
In London, every time a train door opens, an automated female voice tells you to “Mind the gap,” so that you don’t fall into that nether space between the train and the platform. When I was in England last year I smiled every time I heard it. I was about to start a new novel, and Robert McKee’s book Story was on my mind. McKee is another of my screenwriting gurus (if you read this blog, you know I have a few of them—I think screenwriters are often better at talking about plot than novelists) and “the gap” is a concept he talks about a lot. I should say right off, though, that his...
Read MoreNewsy Bits
Eek! My first ever review for Witchlanders! And she liked it! http://watercolormoods.blogspot.com/2011/06/coakley-lena-witchlanders.html
Read MoreARC!
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single girl in possession of her first ARC, must be in want of a…squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! ...
Read MoreMy Favorite Short Stories on My Favorite Podcasts
I’m so surprised that more of my writer friends don’t listen to fiction podcasts. Most of them are free—free!—and a great way to enjoy novels and short stories. You can subscribe to all the podcasts mentioned here via iTunes (also free!); all you have to do is download the program and start searching for podcasts in the iTunes store. After you subscribe, new issues of the podcasts you’ve chosen will automatically download to your iTunes account as they come in. But you don’t have to subscribe to listen to the stories I’ve listed here; Just click on the story title and...
Read MoreDeveloping Desire: Why Knowing What Your Character Wants May Not Be Enough
I started such a brilliant novel a few years ago. Oh it would have been groundbreaking, won awards, made me famous. At least that’s what I thought after I wrote the first chapter. It was about a girl who was searching through time for her long-lost boyfriend and soul mate, but he’d been born into another body and she didn’t know what he looked like. Brilliant! Okay, that’s debatable, but it really had desire. I had taken to heart what I’d learned from so many writing teachers and books: know what your character wants. She wanted this man. Bad. My favourite writing book at the...
Read MoreAbout Me
Hi! I'm Lena, a young adult fantasy author from Toronto.