Snow and freezing rain swooshed into the region on Christmas eve leaving a dangerous layer of ice. But with it, came beauty and a winter’s hush. Wishing readers and writers peace and hope in this lovely season. I realize that 2017 has been a hard, trying year for many of us, but together we can […]
Read the rest of this entry »Archive for the 'Jessica Page Morrell' Category
Book Recommendation for History Buffs: The Color of Lightning
More dry and cold weather is on the way. I’m winding up my Christmas shopping, staying cozy, and started baking Christmas cookies. Now to give most of them away…. But first, in case you still need books for holiday giving I have another title for you. Last summer with current events threatening my sanity, I […]
Read the rest of this entry »Book recommendation: Winter’s Bone
Another fine sunrise this morning and continued dry, crisp weather. Tonight it’s going to freeze–oh happy days. I have allergies so a freeze kills off the abundant leaf mold that’s around here. My tree is installed and tonight I’m going to add the ornaments. Christmas baking has begun and a few gifts exchanged. Saturday night […]
Read the rest of this entry »Book Recommendation for Dog Lovers: The Art of Racing in the Rain
Was just watching the sun rise over a stand of Douglas firs. Pale pink striations because we’re in the midst of a lovely dry spell. Winds have been whipping in from the Columbia Gorge, whisking away the leaves I needed to rake up. Although I enjoy raking, don’t you? I’m going out Christmas tree hunting […]
Read the rest of this entry »Storytellers ought not be too tame….
Rains are here again today–steady thrumming against the tin roof of my porch, the backdrop as I work on a client’s story. I’m still eating Thanksgiving leftovers, getting over a cold, and wearing layers as befitting my circumstances. A house not as snug as I’d like during these short days of winter’s looming. But, I’m […]
Read the rest of this entry »Description must work for its place
Description must work for its place. It can’t be simply ornamental. It usually works best if it has a human element; it is more effective if it comes from an implied viewpoint, rather than from the eye of God. If description is coloured by the viewpoint of the character who is doing the noticing, it […]
Read the rest of this entry »Fill your ears with the music of good sentences….
“Fill your ears with the music of good sentences, and when you finally approach the page yourself, that music will carry you. It will remind you that you are a part of a vast symphony of writers, that you are not alone in your quest to lay down words, each one bumping against the next […]
Read the rest of this entry »What Writers Can Learn from Good Night Moon
What stories are embedded in your memory? Why do they keep resonating as years go by? In The Atlantic’s By Heart column Celeste Ng describes how she was influenced by Good Night Moon, a story she read again and again to her toddler son. Read it here. “For the first three years of his life, my son insisted […]
Read the rest of this entry »Gail Godwin on Characters
The characters that I write are all parts of myself and I send them on little missions to find what I don’t know yet. ~ Gail Godwin
Read the rest of this entry »NaNoWriMo tip: Feature your protagonist’s worst fear.
Reading fiction makes us tense and often scared. And I’m not talking about only horror or thrillers. If a reader isn’t afraid about what fate awaits the central characters, and if the main characters aren’t vulnerable, then the story won’t work properly and readers won’t lose sleep to discover if the character survives. In Anthony […]
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