Today is the last day for discounted hotel room
Written By: Jessica Morrell
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Mar•
28•14
Just a reminder for out-of-towners attending the Claim Your Story Writing Conference on April 12th in Ashland, Oregon : Friday, March 28 is the last day to receive a discounted hotel stay at the lovely Lithia Springs Resort.
Details for this conference are here.
Registration, however, is still open. Stay tuned for more updates from our teaching staff.
I cannot say enough about the Lithia Springs Hotel. Charming grounds and rooms, mineral water piped in, blooms everywhere….a little bit of heaven nestled near the foothills of Ashland.
Spring newsletter was emailed
Written By: Jessica Morrell
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Mar•
27•14
Hello there,
The Spring Writing Life newsletter was emailed this week,.. If you did not receive it please contact me at jessicapage(at)spiritone (dot) com. My email was giving me fits so I will be switching to MailChimp or a new program. My article was the second part of Haunted which is about using back story to create fully-fleshed characters. I used Ree Dolly, one of my favorite characters from Daniel Woodrell’s Winter’s Bone.
As always, thanks for reading my work and inspiring me.
the power of language
Written By: Jessica Morrell
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Mar•
25•14
“Words are substance strange. Speak one and the air ripples into another’s ears. Write one and the eye laps it up. But the sense transmutes, and the spoken word winds through the ear’s labyrinth into a sense that is no longer the nerve’s realm. The written word unfolds behind the eye into the world, world’s image, and the imagination sees as the eye cannot see – thoughtfully.”
~ Dan Beachy-Quick
A Brighter Word Than Bright
invisible stories
Written By: Jessica Morrell
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Mar•
23•14
“I write because I have an idea I want to get out….Writing it feels better, and if what I write influences anyone, that’s unexpected and great.” Michele Weldon
Erle Stanley Gardner’s method
Written By: Jessica Morrell
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Mar•
20•14
Erle Stanely Gardner was a lawyer although he was admitted to the bar without attending law school, and a prolific novelist and short story writer. He’s most famous for his character Perry Mason, who along with Della Street, Paul Drake and Hamilton Burger became household names in the 1960s.
“Murder is not perpetrated in a vacuum. It is a product of greed, avarice, hate, revenge, or perhaps fear. As a splashing stone sends ripples to the farthest edges of the pond, murder affects the lives of many people.” (from The Case of the Horrified Heirs, 1964)
In one of Erle Stanley Gardner’s notebooks he jotted the following reminders:
“Work on every plot until you have
1. Unusual opening incident
2. Complete character conflicts
3. Some emotional appeal
4. Some unusual slant of characters and situation
5. All stock situations eliminated
Make a genuine reader suspense in which he doesn’t know what will happen next and surprised either by
(a) What does happen
(b) the way in which it happens.”
Keep writing, keep dreaming, have heart
Quote from Amy Bloom
Written By: Jessica Morrell
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Mar•
17•14
I think the point of every sentence, every detail, factual or imagined, and every line of dialogue is to illuminate character and advance the story. Research has been, for me, a reassuring and intriguing line of luminarias. ~ Amy Bloom
Welcome Readers
Written By: Jessica Morrell
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Mar•
17•14
from my former blog The Writing Life Too. If you’d like to look through the archives you’ll find it here.
Quick Take: Introduce your Antagonist with Flair
Written By: Jessica Morrell
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Mar•
12•14
When first introducing your antagonist in the story beware of bringing him or her onto the stage as passive or low key. Now, it’s true that some antagonists are out to fool the protagonist from the get-go, but his or her true nature needs to be hinted at. Or the antagonist’s agenda can be used–and let’s remember that whenever possible give all your characters warring agendas.
For example in Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park made into the blockbuster film we first meet John Hammond, the mastermind and creator of the park when he comes to visit and bribe the anthropologists. He needs them to sign off on his park so he can be covered by insurance. He bribes them with a promise of grant money to continue their work. It’s a great way of introducing his desperation and audacity. It’s also a deal with the devil. After all, not many men dream of bringing dinosaurs back to life. Make sure your antagonist is active, in motion throughout the story–sparring, eluding, taunting, scheming.
