I’ve worked with hundreds of writers over the years and if there’s one thing I learned is that writers need to stretch as far as they can. As in take the biggest risk. Stage a madcap scenario or the bleakest dystopian future. Imagine the weirdest, most difficult character. Write about a topic that truly scares […]
Read the rest of this entry »Archive for the 'Jessica Page Morrell' Category
April is National Poetry Month
Find 30 Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month here including a free poster designed by Maira Kalman. {Consider signing up for Poem-A-Day. So easy.} Or memorize a poem. Better yet, write one. Then another. Keep writing, keep dreaming, support poetry
Read the rest of this entry »The first thing that distinguishes a writer is that he is most alive when alone. Martin Amis
Read the rest of this entry »Join me Tuesday, April 4 Willamette Writers Monthly meeting at The Old Church
Why Characters Do What They Do Motivation, goals, and stakes drive fictional characters to act, take risks, and get into heaps of trouble. And then more trouble. These devices also reveal and distinguish characters, propel character growth, and create drama and conflict because opposition will interfere. Motivation stems from a potent brew of a character’s […]
Read the rest of this entry »From an Editor’s Desk: Don’t Describe Nulls
Null as in useless, fluffy, redundant phrases and words. Clutter of the writing kind. They take up space but don’t add to meaning or resonance. Let me explain. I’ve been editing again and have been working on some exciting projects. The cannot-wait-to-see-in-print kind. I’ve also been writing a few articles on style and how to […]
Read the rest of this entry »Always noticing
“I would tell aspiring writers to observe. They already know it’s vital to read and write whenever possible, but often people forget to watch what is going on every day in their surroundings. That is where your ideas come from. Keep one eye on your computer screen and your other eye on the world around […]
Read the rest of this entry »To Outline or Not to Outline that is the Question
Story offers enduring emotions and shared experiences. Storytelling in all its forms is a mysterious unfolding along with a whole bag of magician’s tricks used by the writer. But to perfect your story, be it a novel or screen play or memoir, you need to apply the logic that comes with plotting and planning. Now, […]
Read the rest of this entry »The all-important sentence
Not all sentences end up in novels and stories. But novels and stories consist of nothing but. Sentences are the bricks as well as the mortar, the motor as well as the fuel. They are the cells, the individual stitches. Their nature is at once solitary and social. Sentences establish tone, and set the pace. […]
Read the rest of this entry »R is for Resolute
It’s the third week in February, the moon is pearly and full, spring is awakening, and days are stretching longer. Across the globe people are falling asleep, waking up, being born, dying, making love and plotting wars, cooking, dreaming and taking a wobbly first step. Writers are penning romances and thrillers and memoirs, poems and […]
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