#Fiction

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Dale Thele

Aug 24, 2020
3 min

WTF Are Beta Readers?

You've probably heard of beta testers before. These are real folks who test products, like new consumer products for marketing research. Similarly, beta readers “test read” a manuscript before publication. A beta reader’s purpose is to assume the role of an average reader. They’ll read a manuscript and provide actionable feedback. I've often mentioned beta readers in my social media posts. Beta readers typically read a manuscript during an early stage of the writing process.

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Dale Thele

Mar 20, 2020
2 min

The Vulnerable of Us Amidst COVID-19

Picture, if you will, a spotless expansive lobby, void of chairs and tables, only the lingering pungent scent of disinfectant...

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Dale Thele

Feb 18, 2020
3 min

Writer’s Block—Real or Imagined?

Writer's Block has plagued writers for eons and will continue to do so. Here's my take on this...

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1939 Parker Parkette Mechanical Pencil and Fountain Pen Set

Dale Thele

Dec 5, 2019
2 min

1939 Parker Parkette Mechanical Pencil and Fountain Pen Set

In September of this year, friends gifted me with a vintage fountain pen and mechanical pencil set, which once belonged to their mother. What little they knew of the set’s history was that their mother purchased the set before starting nursing school. Other than that little bit of knowledge, they knew nothing else. I'm proud of the small collection of restored vintage fountain pens (Sheaffer, Parker, and other brands). My favorite are the original Esterbrooks. Since I’ve only

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Dale Thele

Nov 5, 2019
1 min

Under A Harvest Moon

It’s that time of year when the temperature is cooler, trees turn from green to vivid colors, and holidays line up one by one. Autumn is one of my favorite times of the year, there’s something in the air (most likely allergies). But there’s something else, something magical, maybe it’s anticipation, maybe it’s memories, maybe it’s just the shift in seasons. The time of year when afternoon shadows become longer, leaves crunch underfoot, and curling under a blanket provides ext

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Holiday (or anytime) Gift Ideas for Writers

Dale Thele

Oct 19, 2019
4 min

Holiday (or anytime) Gift Ideas for Writers

The holidays are just around the corner and you wrack your brain for that perfect gift for the writer (or yourself) in your life. Buying gifts for writers is a difficult feat, if not torturous. Here are twelve unique gift ideas from Etsy to keep your favorite writer from “killing you off” in their next novel. WRITER'S BLOCK Each block is hand milled from locally sourced Michigan Hard Maple and hand crafted with care. Custom engraved on all six sides and available in 5 sizes

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WHAT??? There Was a Time BEFORE Computers?

Dale Thele

Oct 3, 2019
4 min

WHAT??? There Was a Time BEFORE Computers?

For the younger generation who have grown up with computers, smartphones, iPads, etc, there was a time when there were no computers. Yes, I’m referring to the “dark ages” before email and texting. When we communicated by snail mail, phone (connected by wires to a wall outlet) and yes, we even spoke to one another in person (face-to-face)—can you believe that? Scary ain’t it? My first foray into computing was a Commodore 64. I waited outside in a long line at Service Merchandi

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Why Point-of-View is Important to a Story

Dale Thele

Aug 7, 2019
2 min

Why Point-of-View is Important to a Story

Picture, if you will, a spotless expansive lobby, void of chairs and tables, only the lingering pungent scent of disinfectant...

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Dale Thele

Jul 12, 2019
2 min

You Might End Up in My Next Book

You may already be in one of my stories. I say this, not as a warning or to shock you. When I develop a story, I have a basic plot (and subplots) in mind. For any plot to take place there must be at least one character. I imagine someone I know, or maybe someone I’ve seen as an actor on TV or in a movie who might fit the role. From there I craft the character, taking characteristics from different people to produce a character profile. Usually, I start with someone I know in

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Dale Thele

Jun 9, 2019
3 min

We’ll Be Counting Words

Most writers have a daily goal to write a set number of words. Those goals can vary between writers. Here are examples of some famous writers daily word count goals. Ernest Hemingway: 500 Words Stephen King: 2,000 Words Jack London: 1,500 Words Tom Wolfe: 135 Words Mark Twain: 1,400-1,800 Words W. Somerset Maugham: 1,000 Words Anne Rice and Arthur Conan Doyle: 3,000 Words As you can see, famous authors have different word count goals. How are your daily word count goals worki

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Dale Thele

May 12, 2019
3 min

Mad, Mad, Mad World of Writers

Writers are often considered quirky, eccentric, weird—you get the idea. No matter how deranged you may think writers are, famous writers had set routines they followed religiously. Can we prove or disprove their bizarre routines? After all, they were famous. There’s the old saying: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Maybe there’s something to these strange habits of famous writers. Isabel Allende began each of her novels on the exact same day: January 8. J.A. Jacobs author o

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Dale Thele

May 1, 2019
1 min

How I Tell a Story

Dale Thele fiction with an lgbt twist #DaleThele #Author #Novelist #Writer #Fiction Get new blog post notifications sent directly to you by email. Don't ever miss another blog post! Click here to subscribe.

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Dale Thele

Mar 28, 2019
3 min

Where Do Story Ideas Come From?

This is probably the most asked question of writers. Without a story idea, the writer has nothing to write about. The only occurrence I can recall a writer wrote about nothing was The NeverEnding Story (Die Unendliche Geschichte) by Michael Ende. He wrote of The Nothing. Writers find inspiration in diverse ways. Some writers get ideas from something they see, a result of brainstorming, and some have found inspiration from reading other writer’s works and they sense the story

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What the Sam-Hill, a Novella Featuring a Story Within a Story?

Dale Thele

Mar 13, 2019
4 min

What the Sam-Hill, a Novella Featuring a Story Within a Story?

What is a story within a story? Wikipedia defines it is "a literary device sometimes referred to as a frame story or a frame tale or a frame narrative in which one character within a narrative narrates. The inner stories are told either simply to entertain or more usually to act as an example to the other characters. In either case, the story often has symbolic and psychological significance for the characters in the outer story. There is often some parallel between the two s

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Dale Thele

Mar 12, 2019
1 min

Masked Identities Video Book Trailer

Masked Identities is available in ebook and paperback: here. Dale Thele fiction with an lgbt twist #DaleThele #Author #Novelist #Writer #Fiction Get new blog post notifications sent directly to you by email. Don't ever miss another blog post! Click here to subscribe.

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Dale Thele

Feb 9, 2019
1 min

Lisa Simpson on the Writing Process

A YouTube video posted by zefmanx. Published on Nov 20, 2011. Dale Thele fiction with an lgbt twist #DaleThele #Author #Novelist #Writer #Fiction Get new blog post notifications sent directly to you by email. Don't ever miss another blog post! Click here to subscribe.

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Dale Thele

Dec 9, 2018
2 min

Hit the Road, Jack

Took the big plunge and moved my blog and web pages from Wordpress to Wix. Why? I have nothing against Wordpress, they are a huge blogging host and they’ve been around for a very long time. Previously I was hosted on Wordpress, and before that, I was with GoDaddy. Both had service options I liked, but neither had all the options I wanted in a web host. Was it too much to ask for: 1. a host which offers a clean design without all the sidebars found on Wordpress 2. web pages

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That Moment When Historical Fiction Isn’t Fiction

Dale Thele

Sep 24, 2018
3 min

That Moment When Historical Fiction Isn’t Fiction

You’ve plotted your historical fictional short story. You’ve performed the research to the minutest detail, so the story is historically correct. The words of your story unfold in your editor and suddenly your initial story and your research meld together to reveal your story isn’t fictional at all. Has your muse tricked you or are history (reality) and fiction (make-believe) related in some way? Mark Twain said, “The only difference between reality and fiction is that fictio

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LIFE Sometimes Throws a Wrench into the Works

Dale Thele

Sep 6, 2018
2 min

LIFE Sometimes Throws a Wrench into the Works

What happens when you have goals mapped out and you’re on track to completion; then, out of the blue, LIFE circumstances get in the way? Completing your goals comes to a screeching halt. You put your goals on the back burner so you can deal with whatever annoying crap LIFE has pitched at you. LIFE can be a real bummer. That’s what happened to me recently. I had my goals set to wrap up a manuscript by a specific date. Each step finely detailed, and I had carefully calculated t

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You Know You're an Author: When You FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR CHARACTERS

Dale Thele

Jul 11, 2018
3 min

You Know You're an Author: When You FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR CHARACTERS

Why do writers fall in love (or become infatuated) with one or more of his/her fictional characters? It’s an easy trap for a writer to fall into since the writer must fully understand his/her characters to write a story of substance. A writer literally goes inside the head of his/her characters to explore what makes them tick, what they feel, think, and so on and so forth. In my situation, one of my characters has taken on a near “human” form. Case in point: Shane Davison is

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