FIRE UP YOUR FICTION - An Editor's Guide to Writing Compelling Stories earned a Silver Medal for Readers' Favorite Awards for 2014, a Silver Medal in the Florida Authors & Publishers President's Book Awards, 2013, and an Honorable Mention in Writer's Digest E-Book Awards for 2013.
CAPTIVATE YOUR READERS is all about engaging readers and immersing them in your story world through techniques such as using deep point of view, showing instead of telling, avoiding author intrusions, writing riveting dialogue, and basically stepping back and letting the characters tell the story.
Jodie's WRITING A KILLER THRILLER is also valued by writers and aspiring authors of many genres who are looking to pick up the pace of their stories and add tension, suspense, and intrigue. Her first book, published in 2012, it continues to sell steadily to aspiring authors.
Also look for Jodie's handy, clickable writers' e-resources, QUICK CLICKS: WORD USAGE and QUICK CLICKS: SPELLING LIST. These resources, like Jodie's other books, can also be read on your computer, tablet, or smartphone.
Jodie has also compiled, edited, and published two anthologies for charity, VOICES FROM THE VALLEYS -- Stories & Poems about Life in BC's Interior, and CHILDHOOD REGAINED -- Stories of Hope for Asian Child Workers.
Scroll down for more info on Jodie's books.
Jodie is also a
well-known blogger, and her craft-of-writing articles and other resources for
writers appear on various blogs, including her two group blogs, the award-winning The Kill Zone
(alternate Mondays, 2012-2015) and Crime Fiction Collective (April 2011 to April 2014), as
well as guest spots on Fiction University, Anne Allen's Blog, The Thrill Begins, Blood-Red Pencil, DP Lyle's Writer's Forensics blog, and other blogs.
Jodie presented workshops
on the craft of writing at writers' conferences and to writers' groups across
North America for years. She has
also served as judge for various book awards, including several times for Writer's Digest
contests.
UPDATE, APRIL 2023: Jodie is on hiatus from editing as she has been experiencing a year-long flare-up of her lifelong ME/CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). She is currently writing a self-help guide for others dealing with this condition, entitled LIVE YOUR BEST LIFE -- DESPITE LIMITED ENERGY, to be released in summer 2023.
Jodie has had a lifelong
passion for reading, especially fiction. She worked at a variety of jobs before
she became an English and French teacher, received her master's degree in
literature, and became a school librarian. Somewhere in there, she raised two
sons, traveled to a lot of different countries and cities, and moved thousands
of miles - twice. She has been editing novels and short stories since 2007.
As a freelance fiction
manuscript editor, Jodie specializes in thrillers, romantic suspense,
mysteries, and other fast-paced, suspenseful fiction, as well as Young Adult and Middle Grade fiction.
When she's not editing,
writing, or reading novels or books on writing compelling fiction, Jodie loves
to pursue her three other passions, dancing, photography and traveling. She has traveled
extensively throughout North America, Europe and the Middle East, and continues
to sneak away whenever she gets the chance.
JODIE RENNER'S
BOOKS:
Fire up Your Fiction
- An Editor's Guide to Writing Compelling Stories
Fire up Your Fiction (Style That Sizzles) won a Silver Medal (in the Reference category) in the Florida Authors & Publishers Association President's Book Awards for 2013 and an Honorable Mention in the Writer's Digest Self-Published E-Book Awards for 2013.
“What a wonderful resource for writers at any stage of their career! I wish I had this book when I first started writing. [...] I can’t think of anything important that you haven’t addressed succinctly and clearly. [...] This should be on the booklist for Master’s Programs in Writing for Publication. [...] You must be a wonderful editor to be able to write such a readable, but comprehensive book.”
~ Judge, Writer’s Digest Self-Published e-Book Awards, 2013
Fiction writers – if you want a concise, to-the-point guidebook with great tips for honing your style, bringing your scenes to life, tightening up your writing, picking up the pace, writing more natural dialogue, and developing a more authentic, appealing voice, Fire up Your Fiction is the perfect choice.
Topics include: style blunders to avoid, showing instead of telling, streamlining cluttery sentence structures, avoiding repetitions, choosing words that nail it, pacing for power, avoiding info dumps and awkward structures, writing natural-sounding dialogue, expressing thoughts, showing character reactions, avoiding melodrama, finding your authentic voice, and more.
“What a wonderful resource for writers at any stage of their career! I wish I had this book when I first started writing. [...] I can’t think of anything important that you haven’t addressed succinctly and clearly. [...] This should be on the booklist for Master’s Programs in Writing for Publication. [...] You must be a wonderful editor to be able to write such a readable, but comprehensive book.”
~ Judge, Writer’s Digest Self-Published e-Book Awards, 2013
Fiction writers – if you want a concise, to-the-point guidebook with great tips for honing your style, bringing your scenes to life, tightening up your writing, picking up the pace, writing more natural dialogue, and developing a more authentic, appealing voice, Fire up Your Fiction is the perfect choice.
Topics include: style blunders to avoid, showing instead of telling, streamlining cluttery sentence structures, avoiding repetitions, choosing words that nail it, pacing for power, avoiding info dumps and awkward structures, writing natural-sounding dialogue, expressing thoughts, showing character reactions, avoiding melodrama, finding your authentic voice, and more.
Excerpts
from the IndieReader review:
“Jodie Renner’s
FIRE UP YOUR FICTION is a handy manual for writers looking to make the biggest
impact with their craft.
“Renner shows and tells:
Each chapter offers precise rules of what to do, and what not to do, with
plenty of concrete examples. … With a whole draft in hand, the chapters
serve as a trusty map, practical checklist and action plan all in one. … “Renner
specialized in editing thriller fiction – and it shows. There is a certain rush
in seeing the sloppy, awkward “before” transform into the lean, mean “after.”
Chapters are clear and succinct. … Chapter 21 offers a priceless lesson in
the importance of choosing the right word, by demonstrating alternatives to
such ordinary choices as “walked,” “run” and “looking.”
“FIRE UP YOUR FICTION is the Strunk and White for writers who want to
be not just mere storytellers but master story-compellers."
~ IndieReader review, March 2014
~ Randy Ingermanson, bestselling author of Writing Fiction for Dummies
“A handy checklist and self-editing guide that will get any fiction writer to a
stronger, well-told tale.”
– James Scott Bell, bestselling author of Revision and Self-Editing, Plot and Structure,
The Art of War for Writers, and more writing guides
Writing a Killer Thriller
- An Editor's Guide to Writing Compelling Fiction
ISBN-13: 978-1490389943
Available as an e-book or trade paperback
Available as an e-book or trade paperback
ESSENTIAL STRATEGIES FOR SUPERCHARGING YOUR
STORIES!
Respected editor Jodie Renner offers indispensable advice for creating
fast-paced, compelling fiction in this revised and significantly expanded
second edition of WRITING A KILLER THRILLER.
PRAISE FOR WRITING A KILLER THRILLER
“Finally, someone who understands the thriller! More than ever, an author must
also be his own best editor, and Jodie Renner is there to help. Writing a
Killer Thriller should be on every thriller writer’s desk. It breaks down the
thriller into its must-have component parts to write a scintillating,
edge-of-the-seat novel that will get readers buzzing and sales flowing.”
– ROBERT DUGONI, New York Times bestselling author of The Jury Master, Murder
One, and many more thrillers.
“Writing is hard, editing harder, and self-editing almost impossible. Writing a
Killer Thriller demystifies each of these steps on the road to a published
manuscript. Read this book. It will help you now and for many years to come.”
~ DP LYLE, award-winning author of many nonfiction and fiction books
“Writing a Killer Thriller by Jodie Renner is an in-depth journey through each
component of the thriller. Renner breaks down the process into key elements,
each essential to keeping the reader turning those pages. From character
development to building suspense, Writing a Killer Thriller should be on the
desk of every thriller author out there. A staple for the beginner, a refresher
for the pro.”
– JOE MOORE, #1 Amazon and international bestselling co-author of The Blade The Phoenix Apostles, and more
Whether you’re planning your first novel or revising your fourth, you’ll
discover lots of concrete ideas here for taking your fiction up a level or two,
entertaining your readers, gaining fans, and creating buzz. Both published and
aspiring authors of suspense-thrillers and other fast-paced, popular fiction
will find these tips indispensable for plotting your story, creating compelling
characters, writing a gripping opening, designing suspenseful scenes, picking
up the pace, ramping up the tension and intrigue, revising for power, and
creating a page-turner that sells.
Captivate Your Readers
- An Editor's Guide to Writing Compelling Fiction
This third guide to writing compelling fiction by respected editor and award-winning author Jodie Renner provides concrete advice for captivating readers and immersing them in your story world. It’s all about engaging readers through techniques such as using deep point of view, showing instead of telling, avoiding author intrusions, writing riveting dialogue, and basically stepping back and letting the characters tell the story.
Today’s readers want to lose themselves in an absorbing story. Renner shows you how to provide the immediacy and emotional involvement readers crave in fiction, the direct, close connection to the characters and their world. And she does it in her usual highly accessible, reader-friendly style, with plenty of subheadings, concrete tips and examples.
This book is available in both e-book form and print, through all Amazon websites, and in print at many independent bookstores and libraries.
“Jodie’s books are packed with practical writing and editing advice. Get ready to improve your manuscript today.”
– Steven James, author of many bestselling novels and Story Trumps Structure: How to Write Unforgettable Fiction by Breaking the Rules
E-RESOURCES
Also, check out Jodie's quick and handy clickable e-resources, Quick Clicks: Word Usage - Precise Word Choices at Your Fingertips and the companion guide, Quick Clicks: Spelling List - Commonly Misspelled Words at Your Fingertips, which will both save you tons of time while you're writing, revising, and self-editing! You can read them on your e-reader, computer, tablet, or smartphone. To view the books on Amazon.com, click on the titles above or on the widgets
or covers in the sidebar on the right.
ANTHOLOGIES:
VOICES FROM THE VALLEYS- Stories & Poems About Life in BC's Interior
51 contributors, 308 pages, includes drawings and colour photos. $17.95 USD from Amazon; $19.95 CAD, $18.95 CAD from www.CobaltBooks.net.
All proceeds from book sales, after production expenses, go to Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders Canada (MSF).
CHILDHOOD REGAINED -- Stories of Hope for Asian Child Workers
Wow, great post.
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