History That Never Was

Home of Dawn Vogel: Writer, Historian, Geek

Atmospheric Sensory Detail vs. Sensory Detail for Plot

| April 19, 2021

A lot of writing advice suggests that you need to load your writing with sensory details. However, other advice suggest that the only sensory details you include should be the ones with direct bearing on the plot. This article suggests a much more balanced approach–including enough sensory detail to establish the atmosphere, but also using […]

Sarah Castille’s Las Capas House

| February 4, 2021

When I was writing Sure Shot in Las Capas, I knew the book was going to start with the scene in Sarah and Daisy’s kitchen, as Sarah was washing the dinner dishes. And I had an image in my mind of what her view out the window would look like. It was only when I took […]

Borrowing from Yourself

| July 20, 2020

If you’re inspired to write a short story that isn’t slated for anything in particular, are you tempted to build a new world, or set your story in a world you’ve already created? If you’ve already got a world that you’ve created, it’s entirely likely that there are potential stories that you haven’t gotten to […]