Let’s talk honestly about a major fiction turnoff: using a story as an excuse to preach, moralize or convince others of the author’s opinion. But we all have opinions, don’t we? (You know what they say about opinions, right? Something about we all have them just like that lower gastrointestinal sphincter and well…I just won’t go there). Our opinions are likely to ooze through what we write whether we want them to or not. So how do authors avoid being preachy? 1-Keep story as your first priority. Make the craft of telling a great story come way ahead of any message. 2-As the author, stay off stage. Let your characters interact and if you find yourself straying out of your point of view character’s head, make sure the opinion being expressed is your characters, not yours. If the author intrudes, it takes the reader out of the story. 3-Watch dialogue for clues that you might be “speechifying.” Any time a character has more than three sentences in a row is a yellow flag that should alert you during revisions to be sure the character isn’t getting preachy. 4-Articulate good arguments for the position opposite the one you hold. If you’re…