“Adults look at colors, yet do not see them. Adults perceive shapes, yet do not understand their speech. Adults live in light and from light, yet do not notice it at all. Adults cast long shadows, yet do not play with them. Adults take up much (indeed too much) space, yet never just for once […]
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Poets & Writers 100 Writing Contests That Want Your Work
100 Writing Contests That Want Your Work Whether you write short stories or translate Icelandic nonfiction, Poets & Writers has got you covered with our Writing Contests database, which lists over 100 contests with upcoming deadlines. What are you waiting for? Gival Press Novel Award — A prize of $3,000, publication by Gival Press, and […]
Read the rest of this entry »Cathy Lamb:How To Create Compelling Settings In Your Books.
Build settings that encourage your readers to think, to be inspired, to dream. What if…what if I started painting again? Building again? Writing? Making a collage? What if I changed my life? What if I became a new me?
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 »Reminder: I’ll be teaching at the Pennwriter’s Conference
Dates are May 14-17 Pittsburgh, PA On Thursday May 14 I’ll be teaching an all-day intensive The Anchor Scenes of Fiction that will clarify what happens next (and why)in a novel. Friday and Saturday I’ll be teaching Whispers: Theme and Premise in Fiction and What Writers Can Learn from Downton Abbey. You can find the […]
Read the rest of this entry »Thought for the day
“Human vocabulary is still not capable, and probably never will be, of knowing, recognizing, and communicating everything that can be humanly experienced and felt. Some say that the main cause of this very serious difficulty lies in the fact that human beings are basically made of clay, which, as the encyclopedias helpfully explain, is a […]
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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