Kitchen Shenanigans

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Thursday, November 29, 2012

Speaking in voices

PatB's post today got me thinking about the use of 'voice' in writing. Of course, we can't lean on tonality, as we do with speaking aloud, to convey mood and purpose, and other unspoken subtleties of communication: we have to reveal the personality and details of characters through their manners of... Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

The Willful Character

Many of the most renowned of authors, have reported the same waywardness of their characters that both PatB and Taps speak of today in Pat's blog, and the comments. When you lose control, though, that is when you have fallen into the 'inspiration' zone, and exactly the right time to let go, and let... Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

a new prompt: Why have government?

What's a government supposed to do? What is its role in the life of an individual, or a community? Why do we have government? I asked a 14-year-old boy this question, and his answer was, "Government is there to make sure everyone does what they're supposed to do." Interesting: he equates The... Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, November 19, 2012

This one's for the animal lovers...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVh0pjDIsUQ Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Inspiration

It can be blessed hard to come by, some days. Call it Writer's Block, or whatever, we writers have as many ways to try to get past it, as others have hiccup cures. I found a new one... for me, anyhow. All this week I've had access to Netflix and a big TV, and have immersed myself in historic drama,... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, October 12, 2012

Prompting: Family Ties That Bind

This prompt is for a particular kind of writing, though anything it inspires is welcome. The specific kind, is journaling: visiting your own past, your own circumstances, your experiences. I have a friend who is surrounded by them: his word for them, ijits. The people of little insight and... Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Prompt: September

September... One of those months that is abundant with associations, meanings and metaphors... Labor Day--honoring working people, with a day off-work, and significant to the fashionable, because after this day, you can put away your whites and lights, and dress in those deep rich tones of autumn.... Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Building the Arc

Life is change; life is problems and challenges; life is reaction and response. All these things also are what make a character and a story come alive, and the process of their change and evolution is the arc. A character arc begins with the character's state of being at the beginning of the story,... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, May 11, 2012

Which Word, When and Why?

The words you use to are like the body-language of a story: they suggest and imply, and communicate more than their definitions allow. We use certain words in dialogue to convey personality of the speaker. The words you use in narrative reveal your personality as a writer, and also the personality... Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Breaking the Rules

The best writers, the authors of best-sellers, of the classics--break the rules. Tolkien would have gotten a fight from a contemporary editor for his pages-long single-speaker narrative in FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, a scene in which Gandalf describes to a gathering why he missed an appointment. Mark... Sign in to see full entry.

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