M.L. Frazier - Author, Website Owner, Blogger

Reading to write... what's involved? (Part Two) Q2: What sets my writing apart from everyone else's? Mostly planning. If you have a handle on the English language, to include grammar and spelling, you've got half of the battle won. Next you'll need a good plot with plenty of conflict – whether it's moral, societal, supernatural or whatever you choose, there has to be something that makes your characters push for change or revolution. Next you need to put your planning where your plot is... or is it plot where your planning is? Write out the whole story in a few sentences. Ex: Teenie was manufactured to be a robot, but he had feelings. He had no one to share his feelings with. Until he met the human boy Peter. They become quick friends, until the manufacturer came to recall Teenie's model. Now there's a race to save Peter's only friend from being deactivated, or worse, completely scrapped. Next is the story l

A few weeks ago, I checked out a bunch of books I like from the library. Some fiction, some non fiction, I even checked out some of the best selling Christian fiction I've ever read. But wait... my book is fantasy fiction, there's no religion in there and it's definitely not a factual story, so why the non fiction and Christian fiction?    Good question! I'll tell you why. The author of each of these best sellers fashions his or her stories in a way that I haven't yet. Please, let me explain... I've heard so many times, "you have to read, to write well ". And I have seen many different opinions on the subject, but the million dollar question is, do you? After thinking about the “reading to write well” concept, I had some tough questions I had to ask myself. I had been watching movies for inspiration but that wasn't working to help me become a better writer. It gave me great ideas, sure, but it wasn't working as a tool to help me fa