They’re lurking. The miniscule clumps, strands, and bits of primeval origin that were essential in the inception and growth of the story, but now hamper its ability to flourish. The story has outgrown them, but still they cling, abetted by the author who is complicit in their continued existence. I don’t know that this is […]
Without a doubt, Kimba – our semi long-haired stray cat, was the most nervous animal I’d ever met. It had nothing to do with hot tin roofs; she just couldn’t adjust to surprises. Her earlier life was a mystery; she adopted us when she was fully grown. But it can’t have been stable. Whenever I cleaned, […]
Consider a clear, still mountain pool. Beautiful, isnt it? A disturbance – maybe a passing automobile – causes a rock to slide down the mountain side, hit a ledge and bounce into the water. Immediately, there are easily discernible ripples from the point of impact. Now visualize that the pool has several waterfalls at one […]
Guest Post by a.e.Tyree When a writing teacher first suggested I write Flash Fiction, I thought she was crazy. Write a complete story in under 1000 words with a compelling setting, interesting characters, a conflict and resolution. Impossible! But when she explained some of the ways it could help me complete my current novel, I […]
November 16, 2010. The day I began the revision outline for the novel that is becoming Sparks. By the very next week I knew that while an outline is a must, it doesn’t give me the level of detail that I need. So I added a storyboard to my revision artifacts, and was still confident […]
Zipping merrily along through my revision outline; making great progress. In the zone, every thought had a home. And then…I rounded a blind curve and had to skid to a brain locking stop. Hit an obstacle. Makes me crazy when that happens. Actually, the obstacle was an event. I had shown it from the heroine’s […]
Someone asked me – earnestly, sincerely – for my thoughts on writing a book. My first reaction was – who me? I’ve not yet commercially published my first novel. What thoughts am I qualified to share? If someone were to ask for my thoughts on software development, I could expound at length. How to immerse […]
I’m very excited. I’ve figured out how to make the sometimes revered, sometimes scorned, always discussed writer’s tool work for me. You know the one – the outline. I’d only begun using it because my editor advised that it was the next step for revising the story he’d critiqued. Now I’m outlining because it is […]
I started out this week looking (or listening?) for my voice. Along the way, I was unexpectedly thrilled to discover where my novel, Sunrise on the Pier, belongs. It may sound odd, but I didn’t choose a genre and then set out to write a novel; I wrote a novel and then had to find […]
