After taking a creative writing class last quarter, I was introduced to an interesting website that I think many people will find helpful. It’s called Duotrope’s Digest. It’s free to sign up and you can essentially shop around your story … Continue reading →
How many of you use a pen and paper to write? A handwritten journal? Post-it notes?? Yeah, I thought so. Not very many of you. I’ve learned in doing Prompt Group meetings for the last couple years that modern Americans … Continue reading →
Sitting in a rainstorm with a dead car battery, I can’t help comparing this situation to my writing. For various reasons, work stress among them, I feel too drained by day’s end to write. It’s like my characters have abandoned … Continue reading →
Just like a lot of things in this world, stories come in all sizes. When I was younger, nothing short of a novel length tale really got my juices flowing. Whether it was because I had more time for such … Continue reading →
It was Juliet Capulet (via our friend [enemy to some] Billy Shakespeare) who first asked: “What is in a name?” Well, the answer is nothing. And everything. If you’re writing, then you need to make sure that the name is … Continue reading →
This week we are taking a look at motivation and the dreaded middle section of a story. I find it ironic that this title is, relatively, the middle of this series. What’s up with the middle being a bad thing? … Continue reading →
Last post I discussed beginning a new story, how to begin, and what tools we use. I mentioned a often-used acronym, BICHOK. Butt in chair, hands on keys. Here’s where that little mantra really becomes important. Learn it, know it, … Continue reading →
So, we’ve got all these wonderful characters talking in our heads, a fabulous plot, a gorgeous setting. We may or may not have an outline, depending on whether we like that sort of thing or prefer to wing it. Now … Continue reading →
This week we will take a look at researching stories. First up, what exactly does research encompass? Quite a lot actually. Of course, there are historical facts. Names, dates, places, major events. It also covers social and political ideas of … Continue reading →
Point of View Oh, those three dreaded words. I have gotten to the point as a writer that I understand POV is an important storytelling tool. I have even been dragged kicking and screaming into a place where I agree … Continue reading →