Deborah Cooke: Author

Category: Writing

  • National Novel Writing Month

    And they’re off! November is National Novel Writing Month and those who participate in NaNoWriMo aim to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. It’s often perceived by writers to be the big push necessary to get that draft done. One of the core ideas is that writers should give themselves permission…

  • The Holy Grail of Voice – Part 4

    As many of you knew, our last excerpt yesterday was written by Anne Rice. The sensuous prose and the description of New Orleans usually leads people to the right answer. It’s from her book Exit to Eden, which was published under the pseudonym Anne Rampling. The book is a wonderful erotic romance. III. Finding Your…

  • The Holy Grail of Voice – Part 3

    Yesterday, we closed with a passage and you were challenged to identify which of the three writers whose voices we heard yesterday had written that passage. It was pretty easy and most of you were correct that it was written by Tom Robbins. It was from his book, Skinny Legs and All. Now we move…

  • The Holy Grail of Voice – Part 2

    II. Recognizing “Voice” When You See or Hear It. The best way to hear voice is to start listening to it and for it. We’re going to listen to the voices of some authors today and you’re going to respond to what you hear. There are no right or wrong answers. You just need to…

  • The Holy Grail of Voice – Part 1

    This is the workshop I taught at New Jersey RWA’s conference. It’s 45 minutes long, so I’ll break it into smaller posts. Here we go! The Holy Grail of “Voice” by Deborah Cooke As authors, we hear a lot about “voice”. You’ve probably been to a few sessions here where the editors and agents have…