“When you are in the middle of a story it isn’t a story at all, but only a confusion; a dark roaring, a blindness, a wreckage of shattered glass and splintered wood; like a house in a whirlwind, or else a boat crushed by the icebergs or swept over the rapids, and all aboard powerless […]
Read the rest of this entry »Archive for the 'Writing advice' Category
Quick take: Aim for Messy Emotions
Storytelling must give readers an emotional experience. To bring about emotions in your readers stir in thorny situations that bring up messy emotions. By messy I mean the ones your characters have difficulty managing, perhaps would prefer not to feel or even acknowledge. Messy can also means complex–the character is feeling a troublesome brew of […]
Read the rest of this entry »In case you missed it….
Writerly gatherings from the internets: 1. 20 Amazing Writing Residencies You Should Apply for is here. (This list is from 2014, but the residencies are still viable.) 2. Sadly, the final Scratch magazine is online. The topic, fittingly, is The End. Sigh. 3. How to Master Anything, at Any Age. The 9 concepts […]
Read the rest of this entry »Crutch Words
Check out my article about crutch words over at Insecure Writers Support Group. Sleuthing out your crutch words will make you more secure. Promise!
Read the rest of this entry »In Case You Missed It
Gathering of writerly tidbits from the internets Did you miss BEA this year? Think inspiring writers need to attend? Think again…here’s agent Janet Reid ‘splaining things. Last month I attended a luncheon at the Pennwriters Writing Conference. Lucky me, it was the amazing Jane Friedman talking about using social media to sell books. She’s a […]
Read the rest of this entry »Ted Hughes on the power of words
“Because it is occasionally possible, just for brief moments, to find the words that will unlock the doors of all those many mansions inside the head and express something – perhaps not much, just something – of the crush of information that presses in on us, from the way a crow flies over and the […]
Read the rest of this entry »Cristi Corbett interview
Folks, I’m happy to say that I’m adding new interviews to the site. Here’s the latest one with Christi Corbett talking about her writing process and her new novel Tainted Dreams. You can find more about Christi here. Keep writing, keep dreaming, have heart
Read the rest of this entry »Quick tip: one trick to creating backstory
Quick Take: Every protagonist comes into a story with emotional baggage and justifications for their behaviors. These qualities and foibles, acquired over a lifetime, are also called back story. And these emotional needs, blind spots and hungers motivate the protagonist to behave the way he or she behaves. Because these behaviors are also coping mechanisms. […]
Read the rest of this entry »In case you missed it: How Stephen King teaches writing
A terrific interview at The Atlantic. Thanks Mr. King for speaking out against adverbs and lazy writing. My favorite line: Reading good fiction is like making the jump from masturbation to sex. Keep writing, keep dreaming, have heart
Read the rest of this entry »Needed: Milestones that Create Change
As your story moves along, each milestone the protagonist encounters will test, stress, and shape him or her in a new way. It will force a reconsideration or recalibration of who he is. A milestone can be an emotionally-charged event or life passage such as a wedding, funeral, a harrowing childbirth, or death bed scene. […]
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