I’ve worked on a number of manuscripts where violence happens on the page and the story just sort of moves along. Violence requires consequences–injuries, trauma, legal repercussions, banishment. It also requires enough back story to support the character committing violence. If a sweet young thing punches out an adversary, we need to believe she’s physically […]
Read the rest of this entry »Archive for the 'Jessica Page Morrell' Category
Saved by Stories
Just after my seventh Christmas our family moved into a bigger house. By then my youngest brother Colin had been born on Halloween and the eight of us had outgrown our modest three-bedroom. The move happened over the holiday break, amid the bitter cold, my father and uncles still young men hauling sagging, stained mattresses, […]
Read the rest of this entry »Quick take: Complicated
Plan complicated quirks, flaws and weaknesses in your whole cast of fictional characters. But then make these quality have consequences. Santino, Sonny Corleone, the oldest son in The Godfather was impulsive and a hothead, but he was also a loving father and husband and believed in protecting women and children. When his pregnant sister Connie […]
Read the rest of this entry »Here’s one for Motivational Mondays
You know, I do believe in magic. I was born and raised in a magic time, in a magic town, among magicians. Oh, most everybody else didn’t realize we lived in that web of magic, connected by silver filaments of chance and circumstance. But I knew it all along. When I was twelve […]
Read the rest of this entry »Scholarship
I am offering a scholarship to my upcoming From Idea to Story workshop on Saturday. The information about it is a few posts below. Also, the autumn The Writing Life newsletter has been emailed. If you didn’t receive it or need to update your email address please let me know. Keep writing, keep dreaming, have […]
Read the rest of this entry »Slightly Crazy: Map Your Course to Survive NaNoWriMo
I’ve heard NaNoWriMo referred to as the writers’ version of running with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain; a tequila hangover, a 30-day migraine, and an icy plunge into Lake Michigan in January, except you can’t escape from the water. It teaches you to show up to the page. it teaches you how immersive and powerful […]
Read the rest of this entry »From Idea to Story workshop on November 8
November 8, 9-4:30 Tabor Space, Portland, Oregon Writers have long grappled with the problem of taking a flash of inspiration through the marathon process of completing a finished work. That flash is your premise. But a premise on its own is flimsy, […]
Read the rest of this entry »Registration still open for Claim Your Story Writing Conference
October 4 You can find the details for the conference here. Here’s the short version: a day of workshops and inspiration for $125 at the Lithia Springs Resort, one of the most charming places you’ll ever set foot in. Melissa Hart is the keynote speaker. I’ll also be teaching along with Midge Raymond. Includes a […]
Read the rest of this entry »Avoiding the Perils of Expositional Dialogue
There comes a time in many stories when a character must deliver needed information via dialogue. It’s called expositional dialogue—a conversation with a whole lot of facts or explaining going on. It provides the back story and details necessary to understand for the story. Trouble is, after not too long these dialogue exchanges […]
Read the rest of this entry »Practical
I was just talking with a lovely, talented author about a novel she’s working on. She’s having doubts and we were brainstorming how the story could unfold. I started suggesting solutions, rattling them off…..as I tend to do. And she laughed and said, “But this is so practical.” “Well, yes. I am practical. Sometimes solutions […]
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