On Writing | Vicki Hinze

Craft: Tone

by Vicki Hinze | Dec 28, 2010 | On Writing

Vicki Hinze © 2003-2011 Recently, someone asked what I considered the best way to set tone. I had no idea. So I stopped to think about it, and will share my discovery. The short answer that first comes to mind is in remembering this: “When the soul weeps, there...

Craft: Theme and Premise

by Vicki Hinze | Dec 28, 2010 | On Writing

Vicki Hinze © 2003-2011 What importance should a writer place on theme and premise in his/her novels? This varies from writer to writer. Some get an idea on what the book is about. Others, a character whose story the writer must tell. For still others, they’ve...

Craft: Twelve Tips from the Trenches

by Vicki Hinze | Dec 28, 2010 | On Writing

Vicki Hinze © 2003-2011 Opinions vary, but based on my decade of experience in this business, and some of the hard-knock lessons I’ve learned, here are what I hope will prove to you to be a few helpful hints: 1. Odds of publishing a category novel (versus single-title...

Business: Unethical Agents

by Vicki Hinze | Dec 28, 2010 | On Writing

Vicki Hinze © 2000-2011 Q. I’ve had serious problems with two agents. Both agreed to represent me and then did nothing. The first one for six months. The second one for four months. They’ve wasted a year of my time and I’ve just been waiting. How can...

Craft: Villains

by Vicki Hinze | Dec 28, 2010 | On Writing

Vicki Hinze © 2003-2011 Villains are tricky rascals. As an author your job requires you walk a fine line. You must make your villains credible, logical, believable and understandable, but not likable. You want your villains to be real, three-dimensional people. You...

Craft: Using a Time Line

by Vicki Hinze | Dec 28, 2010 | On Writing

Vicki Hinze © 2003-2011 Several years ago I wrote a fictional biography which had to be chronological, not starting the beginning of each year, but certainly the start of many and other dates. Now I am turning this into a novel, and as I get into it I find I am also...