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
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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. […]
Read the rest of this entry »Resource for writers: Winningwriters.com
In case you’re not familiar with winningwriters.com it’s a boon to writers trying to break in or break out. You’ll find all the latest contests, deadlines, and literary journalists to submit to along with tips and bits and pieces about the writing life. Some of the contests offer real money, it’s just plain inspirational, and […]
Read the rest of this entry »Jeanette Winterson: Language is freedom
“For me, language is a freedom. As soon as you have found the words with which to express something, you are no longer incoherent, you are no longer trapped by your own emotions, by your own experiences; you can describe them, you can tell them, you can bring them out of yourself and give them […]
Read the rest of this entry »Ray Bradbury: Living is the center of your life
You should get on with the business of living
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