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Category Archives: Creativity
Twisted Wit
During my lifetime I have noticed a shift in the focus of humor–laughs are no longer based on situations but humorous conversations. Wise-cracking retorts are funnier than amusing events. In fact, often the events would be minimal. The sitcom Seinfeld … Continue reading
Posted in Creativity, Literary devices, Literature, Trends in books, Writing trends
Tagged humor, laughter., Literary devices
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Writing Dislikeable Characters
Recently I was following a thread of writers discussing how to find names that make characters memorable. Honestly, I believe that writers should be looking at the reverse situation. Names like Scarlet, Sherlock, and Romeo invoke images of their fictional … Continue reading
Writing Sarcasm
The difference between satire and sarcasm makes the first one easier to express in writing. I can take a well-known trope and push it to an unreasonable extreme to create a satirical story. However, delivery of sarcastic lines often requires … Continue reading
Posted in Creativity, Laughter and humor, Literature, Teaching writing skills
Tagged parody, sarcasm, Satire
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Nothing New under the Sun
There have been authors for many millennia and the tools that they use have changed—from painting on stones, to drawing on animal skin, to writing with ink on paper, to using block prints and printing presses and we have electronic … Continue reading
When Writing is a Race
I’ve always envied authors who write quickly. Many of them pull ideas from their own life. Sometimes, when I finish reading a good novel I feel like I’ve met some of the characters, because the author has actually met the … Continue reading
Posted in Creativity, Psychology, Teaching writing skills, Writer's resource
Tagged writing rapidly
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Researching memorable characters
What makes a character memorable? There is no one clear cut answer and even much debate over which ones have that quality. I have researched a number of lists, particularly for characters from novels written in the 20th century. After … Continue reading
Posted in Characters, Creativity, Literature, Trends in books
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Writing by numbers
Shoving creativity into neat little boxes of specific sizes is difficult. Still, I tend to quantify my writing. It provides the sense that I am actually accomplishing something and adds to the vague hope that someday the rest of the … Continue reading
Posted in Creativity, Literature, Writer's resource
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Want a good tip?
Have you ever chatted with a person and mentioned publishing some work only to be barraged with requests for writing tips? Although we would long to be full of wisdom, providing that kind of information is not easy. Sometimes it … Continue reading
Posted in Characters, Creativity, Literature, Story structure, Trends in books
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The fantasy fad
When I attended a seminar for writers of young adult (YA) books, the speakers were all writing fantasy works. Nobody seemed to be creating realistic young adult novels. There should be room for mine, right? Maybe not. When I coached … Continue reading
Posted in Creativity, Literature, Millennials, Trends in books, Zoomers
Tagged Fantasy, magic school, YA, Young adult
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The need for criticism
W. Somerset Maugham said, “People ask you for criticism, but they only want praise.” These were the words of his character, an artist in the novel Of Human Bondage, so it may not be Maugham’s real view. Or, was it? … Continue reading
Posted in Creativity, Literature, Self-awareness, Writer's resource
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