I recently learned a new word: MacGuffin. To my writer friends: I know, I'm possibly the last writer to learn this word. To everyone else, allow me to explain something I just learned about myself: A MacGuffin is something that moves the plot along, but by itself is not really important (or can be substituted … Continue reading MacGuffins
authors
How do you write?
Well, it's that time again. We're in the midst of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), where novices and experts alike try to write 50,000 words in one month. I wish I could say there are two kinds of writers - those who struggle to craft every word and those who write quickly and with a … Continue reading How do you write?
write
"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed." -Ernest Hemingway I don't know if I could call myself a writer and not have that quote stir something within me. Writing is no simple task. Sometimes - as many authors know - it can serve as a kind … Continue reading write
Writer problems
As writers, we encounter a lot of problems. Probably the most talked about problem is when people ask us if we're still writing (which, I guess is a good conversation starter, but is kind of frustrating because the emphasis is usually on "still"). :p But there are lots of other ones like: #1. Fearing and … Continue reading Writer problems
All Hallows’ Eve…of NaNoWriMo
Today, people will dress up in all kinds of costumes and go to parties and/or get free candy. But writers... Well, writers embarking on the adventure known as NaNoWriMo will eye the clock, fingers will be poised over keyboards or over a well-loved notebook, waiting - Waiting for that month that embodies both a writer's … Continue reading All Hallows’ Eve…of NaNoWriMo
Verbal Diarrhea – on dialogue
On writing dialogue I hear it in my writers' group often - there is a fear among many writers of failing at dialogue. And it's a valid fear. The worst thing, as a reader, is to come across something on the page that pulls you out of the moment (or worse, the story). And dialogue, that tricky … Continue reading Verbal Diarrhea – on dialogue
Agent Queries…
I did it. I participated in the pitch slam this summer and got good feedback - including requests for the first 50 pages of my novel and a request for the whole thing. <Gasp!> I, of course, freaked out and spent the last month re-ediitng...but hey, that's how we writers work, isn't it? But tonight....tonight, … Continue reading Agent Queries…
Adding Flavor
On adding flavor to your short stories and novels I love to cook, pulling the spices together to season things just right and adding some wine...and a little more wine, hmmm maybe a little more wine...until everything tastes delicious. There are a few strange cases of people who don't care about flavor and for whom … Continue reading Adding Flavor
Characters and the writers who torment them
As writers, we do terrible things to our characters over the course of short stories and novels - we throw obstacles in their paths, send them after serial killers, break their hearts, introduce them to their arch-nemesis, strand them in foreign lands, and make them flirt with disaster. Often when I'm in the middle of a story and … Continue reading Characters and the writers who torment them
A to Z – Z!!! (WR)
It’s April again and that means it’s time for the A to Z challenge and this year, my theme for the A to Z Challenge is characters and narrators. Z is for Zoological Okay, work with me on this one. Z is for zoological, which I am using to discuss how/when authors give human traits to animals in books/tv/film...and … Continue reading A to Z – Z!!! (WR)