Today’s quote from Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook by Donald Maass: “Point of view is more than just a set of eyes looking upon the world. Those eyes come with a mouth and a brain. Those must come into play, too, or your novel will have the chilliness of a movie camera. There may be times when objective point of view is useful, but by and large it is best to use the singular advantage that the novel has over other art forms: the ability to bring us deeply inside a character’s experience.”
Sarah’s & Cynde’s Blog
Dreaming Awake
“Creative writers make believe. They train themselves sharply to observe the world around them, to notice the unnoticed. They reach back into their past lives for rich characters, vivid settings, and meaningful events. But at some point, the search for raw material veers toward another source–it turns inward to what isn’t, wasn’t, and could never be, yet somehow seems right, real, and true.” From: THE CREATIVE PROCESS by Carol Burke and Molly Best Tinsley
Raise Your Voice to Break the Silence
When states in America raise the cry to censor ethnic studies, I shiver and pray that people everywhere raise their voices to louder decibels in protest. We don’t have to look far to find chilling examples of the evils of censorship. The excerpt below comes from Azar Nafisi’s eloquent book, READING LOLITA IN TEHRAN: “Our class was shaped within this context, in an attempt to escape the gaze of the blind censor for a few hours each week. There, in that living room, we rediscovered that we were also living, breathing human beings; and no matter how repressive the state …
Writing in Time…
Having lost myself in time–for months at a time–I am sharing words of wisdom from Kenneth Atchity and his book, A WRITER’S TIME. “Like everything else in life, the process of revising your view of time begins with a decision. It’s a matter of willing to change your life by starting today to manage your time and understand its relationship to work and personal satisfaction. Here are some starting points, gleaned from my own experience and that of some other time-management experts: *Stop doing things no one needs to do. *Stop doing things someone else will do if you stop …
Of All the Stupid Things
As my friend, writer Alexandra Diaz, celebrates the publication of her wonderful debut novel, Of All the Stupid Things, she also shares some advice and thoughts about the writing life. *What advice do you have to writers? If writing is what you really want to do then keep at it, and keep at it some more. All artists encounter people who tell them that they will never make it, but you’re the only one who can make that decision. *What do you think was the most crucial move you made in your writing life that pushed you toward publication? Whether …
Frosty Molecules of Story
“A shimmering Image is a memory that rises in your consciousness like a photograph pulsing with meaning…” Lisa Dale Norton, Shimmering Images, A Handy Little Guide to Writing Memoir Photo credit: Danny Lehman
Shunning the Muse
I’m writing on a deadline these days and, consequently, I’m short on time to blog. However, I do have time to share some of my favorite quotes from incredible writers, editors, and teachers. This one from A Writer’s Time by Kenneth Atchity: “I haven’t mentioned the Muse, the mythic word for “inspiration.” She is the last person you want to depend on. Professional writers generally speak of her with a mixture of affection and tolerance: Discipline, not the Muse, results in productivity. If you write only when she beckons, your writing is not yours at all. If you write according …
2010~mind on the hop
Welcome to 2010 and your mind on the hop! “It is necessary to write, if the days are not to slip emptily by. How else, indeed, to clap the net over the butterfly of the moment? For the moment passes, it is forgotten; the mood is gone; life itself is gone. That is where the writer scores over his fellows: he catches the changes of his mind on the hop.” ~Vita Sackville-West
New Year’s Eve…final musings for 2009
Some final thoughts on writing for this year: 20) Get plenty of exercise. Drink lots of water. Don’t get lost on social networking sites. 22) Understand that as a creative person, you will experience some anxiety, its part of the creative process. 23) Learn the difference between some anxiety and crippling anxiety; seek help for the latter. 24) When anxiety shivers through you, open to your curiosity and let it guide you forward. 25) Creative people are curious people; follow your curiosity the way a dog follows its nose. 26) If you have never written a book, know that its …
December’s Writing Child…and more
More musings as the Solstice draws near… 9) Know that Creatives need company, we need our creative community, those who will support us on our journey. 10) Understand that books are written in drafts, often three. 11) Embrace the mess of your first draft. This is special, this is the mud and mess of first creation. 12) Invite your constructive critic to join the writing/revising process only after you have completed your messy first draft. 13) Understand that your book may take one year or more to complete. 14) Build a strong foundation to support you so you can write …