Martha Conway

Author Website

  • Author
  • Books
    • The Physician’s Daughter
    • The Underground River
      • Foreign Editions
      • The Floating Theatre (UK)
    • Sugarland
    • Thieving Forest
    • 12 Bliss Street
  • News & Appearances
  • Book Groups
  • Contact

May 08 2017

The Cold Open – Get Scary!

YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE Stephen King to start your narrative with something scary. You don’t even have to be writing a horror story. Maybe you just want to grab your reader’s attention right away. Starting with a scary scene or description not only grabs a reader’s emotion—which is a wonderful way to keep them…

Written by Martha Conway · Categorized: Uncategorized · Tagged: artist, chapter one, cold open, craft, creative writing, creativity, fiction, historical fiction, historical novels, how to write the first chapter, how to write well, publishing, revision, stephen king, writing craft, writing good books, writing rules

Oct 23 2016

The Cold Open – Start at the Last Possible Moment

THIS IS THE MOMENT WHEN, in your story world, everything has changed. The stranger has come to town, the father has died, the mother has left, the best friend has announced that she’s moving to Pakistan. Like In Media Res, in which you begin in the middle of the action, this technique relies on triggering…

Written by Martha Conway · Categorized: Uncategorized · Tagged: chapter one, craft, creative writing, creativity, drama, fiction, good fiction, historical fiction, historical novels, how to write well, in media res, inspiration, Ohio River, publishing, reading, Thieving Forest, underground railroad, writers, writing craft, writing rules

Sep 07 2016

What? I thought I was done!

IT’S BEEN SIX MONTHS or more since I looked at my last novel, the one that was “done.” That novel is gearing up to go into production now, and I have a few notes from my editors, stuff to change. As I read through the manuscript for places to cut back or to develop a…

Written by Martha Conway · Categorized: Uncategorized · Tagged: craft, creative writing, creativity, fiction, good books, historical fiction, how to write well, Ohio River, publishing, reading, revision, slavery, underground railroad, writing

Apr 26 2016

What are the Best Rules for Writing?

“Good stories have a quality of authorlessness. The better they are, the more authorless they seem. . . They give a sense of being out there, like facts.” (Janet Malcolm) I have this quotation in front of me on my writing desk, and every once in a while I read it and ponder once again…

Written by Martha Conway · Categorized: Uncategorized · Tagged: craft, fiction, good fiction, good sentences, how to write well, Lauren Groff, Michael Chabon, publishing, reading, Rick Bass, writers, writing, writing craft, writing rules, Zadie Smith

Sep 28 2015

Daydreaming Your Novel

A PARENT IN MY child’s school recently forwarded me an 11-minute video about skills we’ll need for the 21st century. What really stuck with me was the bit about creativity: “Most creative thoughts happen when your mind is left to wander: daydreaming; doing the dishes; exercising.” This rang true for me. My last novel, Thieving Forest, had…

Written by Martha Conway · Categorized: Uncategorized · Tagged: artist, craft, creativity, publishing, reading, self-publishing, Thieving Forest, writers, writing

  • 1
  • 2
  • Next Page »

Copyright © 2023 Martha Conway · Site Designed by Ilsa Brink