Darynda Jones Quotes

There is a difference between fresh and weird. You never want to throw your reader out of the story. Keep it fresh but natural.

And as your writing evolves, what you need and get from it evolves.

Read. Write. Read some more. Explore the universe through your writing. Practice and learn what moves you and what doesn't.

WHILE writing, just try to have fun with your ms. Enjoy the process, but push on. Always push toward the finish line!

Any time a beloved character is killed off, it affects the audience in a very powerful way, especially in a series.

I've been rejected a hundred times. It just takes that one person who totally believes in you!

I think the first draft is so challenging because that elusive BALANCE is so challenging.

Screw the beaten path! Do your thing. Write the best story you can. the rest will fall into place.

ALWAYS hook a reader. If a detail is unnecessary, it doesn't belong in your work, long or short! Make everything intriguing. If you have to describe a desk, make it awesome.

I learn from everything I do, right and wrong. I think it helps me grow as a writer and a person.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel. A finished manuscript is AWESOME! So go, go, go! *waves pompoms*

We don’t read to observe the character from a distance. We read to become the character and experience the conflicts and rewards they are experiencing.

While the goal of a book is to create a positive emotional experience for the reader, the goal of the opening is to set the stage, to pull the reader in.

If you can master the opening, you will be leaps and bounds ahead of the competition.

The key to high concept is that fresh twist. Make it a big one. Wow your reader. Force her to gasp when she comes to that part in your story.

He was leaving my stepmother for a sailboat. Not that I blamed him. A sailboat would at least be useful.

Doing nothing is hard. You never know when you’re done. —T-SHIRT