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…
Get up, don't trash-talk yourself, and write/ski/try again. Those of you living in the Seattle area might know that yesterday was the final day the Steven's Pass was open. A generous friend gave my husband and I some free rental and lift tickets and we seized the day for a final sprint on the slopes. My prior skiing experience has been a few lessons from my…
"We are all the same." This is the core principle of Brian McDonald's second book, The Golden Theme, and a fascinating exploration into why certain stories resonate with us as human beings. This book reads differently than his first book Invisible Ink, which at first surprised me. Invisible Ink feels much like a teaching handbook with insightful exercises and examples. The Golden Theme spoke on a literary level…
I recently encountered a technique for fleshing out a scene that has blown my mind with its insightful attention to detail. Whether writing the scene for the first time or rewriting it because it needs more substance or just plain rewriting the scene because something isn't working, this technique can be used for any of these purposes. I have a tendency to sink heavily into one or two of the six…
In the beginning...Once upon a time...There once was a boy... Although many stories begin with interesting beginnings, it seems quite easy for a storyteller to get caught up in the "and then" action that propels the hero into the battle that faces him and the victory (we hope) that he enjoys at the end of the action. I want to talk about the concept of setting up…
How in the world am I supposed to write, rewrite, edit, market myself, blog, find an agent, network and find time for the seemingly hundreds of things that writers are "supposed to do" in order to establish themselves and win the great trophy of the title published? (For those of you who can relate to this, it may be an appropriate time to tear at your hair).…