Susan Szurek

"Words? she uttered,"Don't be a dolt. Precise, explicit, arranged, with the rule of three used judiciously. Vary sentences. Add fragments. Understand how. Know the rules before breaking them, then twist to your purpose." She brushed a hair away. "Don't act unnecessarily. "Characters must locomote. They enter a room and readers recognize and appropriate proper attention. Admiration or animosity should float to the surface. Provide experiences but subtly, lightly, elegantly. Tickle characters to life. Use a feather, not a hammer." She took a water sip. "Plot and setting? Yes, but could characters be lifted and placed in another century? A different culture? A strange locale? If so, they abide. Without moral ambiguity, there is failure. Create light and shadow. Provide characters with sinuous, serpentine, snaky deportment, demeanor, dealings. Readers don't require constant incorruptibility. Give characters missing or crooked teeth." She took a breath, stopped ranting, sipped water, opened her laptop, and began to type.