A while back, in one of my first posts, I mentioned hearing a bird in the forest near our wilderness resort. A bird we could never locate and always wondered about. After the resort was sold and we'd moved closer to town and were preparing to build a house, we went to a home show looking for …
Tag: working writer tip
ARCHETYPE OR STEREOTYPE?
Earlier today a writer mentioned a problem coming up with good characters. His main concern was to not create characters that are stereotypes. I can understand his concern. As a writer, I've been warned over and over again of the terrible things that will befall my manuscript if I should breathe life into a character …
TONE
There's been a discussion lately among some writers I know about 'tone.' Specifically, the tone required by confession stories. The discussion didn't progress very far before I felt completely overwhelmed. Because when I write, I just write. I think about how to best tell the story and how best to convey that to the reader. …
WORKING WRITER TIP… MIDDLES
First, a bit of housekeeping. I have the feeling I've not got a lot more working writer tips in me. At least, not for the time being. I admit I'm amazed how many tips I remember when I sit down and try to think what has helped me over the years. Still…. not so many …
WORKING WRITER TIP… THE EASY WAY TO ORGANIZE
Autumn has arrived in the north country. It's not the peak of the colors, that'll come in three weeks or so. But there's enough color in the landscape to know summer is ending. And the nights are sometimes downright cold, even freezing. You'd think all this praise for autumn would mean it's my favorite season. …
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WORKING WRITER TIP… THE MENTAL ASPECT OF WRITING
Some time ago, I purchased a book on writing fiction. Not my first such purchase by any means, but the blurb for this book intrigued me because it promised to teach me how to write fiction. So I sent for the book and when it arrived I read it cover to cover. There wasn't much …
Continue reading WORKING WRITER TIP… THE MENTAL ASPECT OF WRITING
WORKING WRITER TIP… STORYBOARDING WITHOUT THE BOARD
Ever watch 'House' on TV with Hugh Laurie playing the part of a brilliant diagnostician? We do. My husband watches the clock during the show. Approximately 48 minutes into the show, he'll announce that it's epiphany time so House will shortly diagnose this week's mysterious disease. It happens just as he predicts. Every time. Because House …
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Working Writer Tip: Endings
Once, because I was getting a student straight from the jungles of Laos, I was given a crash course in southeast Asian culture. I learned that in that part of the world the worst insult a person can bestow on another is to touch the top of their head. Similar to giving someone the finger in the USA. …
Working Writer Tip: About Beginnings
I made baskets yesterday, demonstrating the coiled basket technique as my part of advertising a farmers' market we belong to. When I do this I'm always surprised at the interest people show in simple grass baskets. And they all want to know what it will look like when it's finished. I tell them they can …
Guess What, I’m A Confession Writer
No working writer tip today. Instead, I'm answering a question related to last week's tip on how to easily get into a main character's head and write that deep, deep POV story. How, I was asked, did I learn that writing in first person is the easy way to a character's heart, especially since first …
