An Examination of Themes, Messages, and Armatures Every story should have some kind of message, theme, thrust, main point, etc. You may consider the prior sentence as just an opinion, but hear what I have to say and then disagree, if you still do. When you begin writing a story, you might or might not have a good sense for what it will be about. If you don't…
Most published authors can't avoid the interview question--where do your ideas come from? The frequently give the simple (often maddening to beginning writers) reply of "Everywhere." If you've read or listened to interviews, you'll hear stories of inspiration striking authors while driving, taking a shower, mowing their lawn, eating lunch...insert mundane activity here. But they're right. A person who is actively searching for inspiration, and dedicated to faithfully recording the…
Tangible objects are among the most important components of a powerful story. An object can be anything and can represent anything. It might be a treasure, an item of power, a symbol of doom, a testament of love, a secret of life-shaking identity. Think about objects in movies or famous books that have rendered the story powerful. A favorite of mine is the rose in Beauty and the Beast…
Last week I received my first writing review with some serious professional clout. As you know if you've been following this blog, I was a quarter-finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards this year for my novel Moonlight and Oranges, which is a huge honor and a nice pat on the back. I'd never made it this far in a large contest before. After the quarter-finals, comes…
Finding time to write is not convenient. It just isn't. Whether you're working 60 hours a week or you're unemployed, life loves to get in the way. Life is a dynamic, terribly interesting force that is swirling around us all the time. It never stops. That's why we love to write about it. That's also why, if you want to be a writer who finishes anything, your life must include…
Writing under a time crunch is one of the best ways to kick procrastination in the pants. All you need is a timing device. A clock on the wall will work, but it's even better if it's a countdown timer. Lots of cell phones have timers that will beep or buzz when your time's up. Tick tick tick tick--WAIT! I'm not ready! The urge to prepare…
This is the excerpt for my novel Moonlight and Oranges, currently a quarter finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards. After reading this, go to the Amazon page and review it. Thank you so much! _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CHAPTER ONE: Orange and Vodka 1) Find a guy. 2) Strike up a witty conversation. If she could get that far. Lorona swallowed her bravado and felt sick. She was beginning…
A philosophical thought... A friend of mine brought up this probing question-Is writing dangerous?-yesterday while we sat in a circle of poets, lyricists, fiction and nonfiction prose writers. The thought hadn't really occurred to me to ponder until that moment. And so we did ponder it, over frozen yogurt in honor of spring's warmth. Is it dangerous to spend so much time writing? Hours and hours spent creating,…
I took this picture on the beach, a few minutes' walk away from the cabin where I and three fellow writers retreated for three nights and four days (last Thursday through Sunday) that we dedicated to writing. You do not have to be rich to go on a writing retreat. We've used cabins that belonged to friends. You do not have to be a brilliant established writer to go a…
Today, I'm prepared to delve into the emotional side of writing. It's my homage to the holiday. Valentine's Day, at least in our culture, has been dedicated to red paper hearts, flowers, creme-filled chocolates, expensive dinners and anything else you can put a Hallmark icon on. Then there's the flip side of Valentine's Day for all those singles out there--and though that's not me anymore, I've been there…