“Tell your story by introducing the disequilibrium in your character’s internal, external, and interpersonal world in the right order and with the right timing for this specific story.” Steven James
Sarah’s & Cynde’s Blog
“There is No Greater Agony…”
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” Maya Angelou
Don’t Be a Writer
“Don’t be a writer. Be writing.” William Faulkner
Scared to Write Your Book? Let Your Fears Be Your Guides to Success
Afraid of writing your book because…? Go ahead and jot down a list of your worst fears. Scared of dying? Scared of failing? Scared of finding out you can’t write your way out of a paper bag? (Who needs to do that, anyway?) Scared of hurting others with your words? Scared of contaminating the world with darkness? Scared you’ll find out you’re a monster? Scared you’re just too scared to do anything? Fears. We all have them. You can’t put them in a bottle and cork it. You can’t reason with them. But you can shift your relationship to your …
@NaNoWriMo2015-Get to the Heart of Your Story (writing tip #30)
Okay, so technically this 30th NaNoWriMo post comes to you on December 1. (Even if I pretend that I’m writing this in Honolulu, we are still minutes into the last month of the year.) So I’m opting for flexible and sending out congratulations to all who wrote their way through November. Hopefully, depending upon where you are in the world–catching up on your ZZZZZZs, watching the sun rise, or midway through your day–you are celebrating your accomplishment. There is more writing to be done, more drafts of your novel (more screenplays, essays, short stories, memoirs). We writers write, rewrite, edit, …
#NaNoWriMo2015-Get to the Heart of Your Story (writing tip #29)
I’m finishing some work at my desk tonight, listening to Eva Cassidy’s gorgeous cover of Cyndi Lauper’s aching “Time After Time”. Cassidy performed this version at the Blues Alley club in Georgetown, DC, ten months and one day before her death. She was 33 when she died from melanoma in 1996. “Lying in my bed I hear the clock tick, And think of you …” Lauper’s song and this recording by Cassidy overflow with yearning. Writers understand there is no story without yearning. Take five minutes to listen to Cassidy’s recording. It’s hard to listen only once. Look up Lauper’s lyrics …
#NaNoWriMo2015-Get to the Heart of Your Story (writing tip #28)
When I fall in love with a book it is because I experience the story as if it lives and breathes inside me; I can summon and recall the evocative and pivotal images as clearly as if I’d been there. Because I am there, each time I dive into a story I love, I participate as a reader and the most powerful images are a dance of the visual and the visceral. Make wise use of the pivotal images of the story you are writing. What is the opening image of your story? Visualize your hero just as the story …
#NaNoWriMo2015-Get to the Heart of Your Story (writing tip #27)
If you’re participating in NaNoWriMo2015 you might be feeling down to the wire–and maybe in need of the ROCKY theme song. Today’s reminder is to celebrate your small victories even as you set your sights on the gold ring! For many of us it is easy to focus on all the things we didn’t get done–while we overlook the myriad things we did. So take a few minutes during your day to acknowledge the moments of kindness you shared with others, the words on the page however raw and rough they might be, the bill you paid, the errand you …
#NaNoWriMo2015-Get to the Heart of Your Story (writing tip #26)
It’s early evening in New Mexico’s high desert, the beginning of the end of Thanksgiving 2015 in America. I am thankful for all the blessings in my life. I am grateful for the roof over our heads, even though it’s a bit leaky in places. I’m grateful to wake each morning to the sound of birds–when so many people huddle awake in the darkness surrounded by the explosions of missiles or the stutter of gunfire. I am so so so grateful for my beautiful daughter, and I pray that she stays safe and flourishes in this challenging world. I am …
#NaNoWriMo2015-Get to the Heart of Your Story (writing tip #25)
Yesterday I wrote about approaching the end of writing the first draft of your novel and the various emotions that will inevitably be stirred up inside of you. In a previous post I wrote about the fact that the fears that arise around writing your book must, in their deepest nature, be connected to the fears of your primary characters. This is simply so. So, now, as you near the end of this draft, do remember to find the way from your fears–their deepest, most primal nature–to the fears of your protagonist. They will be heightened by the approach of …