Category Archives: Ideas for writing

Imaginary reality

Posted on May 30, 2024 by knlistman

Everyone writes from their experience. That is all some writers ever do. Henry David Thoreau only recorded his life experiences. James Baldwin and Ernest Hemingway wrote semi-autobiographical novels in addition to non-fiction essays and articles. Hemingway’s fiction contains thinly veiled … Continue reading →

Posted in author feuds, Ideas for writing, Literature, mythology, Trends in books | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Reading the lines… or the space between them?

Posted on May 16, 2024 by knlistman

Reading between the lines doesn’t refer to reading blank space. But, sometimes it is almost as difficult. It requires astute attention to pull out what is not explicitly stated in the text. How much should an author expect a reader … Continue reading →

Posted in Ideas for writing, Literary devices, Style and voice | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Journeying away from the Hero’s Journey

Posted on March 21, 2024 by knlistman

Want a plot that’s been used successfully thousands of times? Research Campbell’s monomyth or simply read Christopher Vogler’s book on the hero’s journey. The hero’s journey is an idea manufactured as a result of popular literature from Greco-Roman times. However, … Continue reading →

Posted in Ideas for writing, Literary devices, Literature, mythology, Novels, Story structure, Teaching writing skills, Trends in books | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Why Don’t They Like My Writing?

Posted on January 26, 2024 by knlistman

Beta reviewers or the local literary critique group may not be fond of what an author has written. However, they often don’t know how to explain what they dislike. The problem could be based on style. Perhaps, the language sounds … Continue reading →

Posted in author feuds, Creativity, Ideas for writing, Showing versus telling, Teaching writing skills | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

How Can Writing Not Be “Telling?”

Posted on December 6, 2023 by knlistman

I find the “show don’t tell” adage for writers a curious contradiction. Unless you are writing a movie script that will be produced, everything that you record is actually told to the reader. Writing is very abstract, so providing this … Continue reading →

Posted in Drama and movies, Ideas for writing, Literary devices, Literature, Novels, romance, Showing versus telling, Trends in books, Writing trends | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Writing by the Book

Posted on November 30, 2023 by knlistman

There are sets of questions that writers can answer to create different kinds of stories which are used for psychological thrillers or horror. There are also guidelines to writing romance by the beat. Search “formulas for writing a book” on … Continue reading →

Posted in Drama and movies, Ideas for writing, Trends in books | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Grasping at Ideas

Posted on November 9, 2023 by knlistman

Books exist that relate the basics of writing stories: how to create plots that follow specific beats and pacing, how to develop characters and throw continual problems at them, how to use settings to enhance your story. But, all this … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Ideas for writing, Story structure, Teaching writing skills, Trends in books | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Writing What You Don’t Know

Posted on October 26, 2023 by knlistman

Writing what I know makes the presupposition that I possess an intimate knowledge of events surrounding my own life. However, this knowledge is so specific to me that it may not reflect what others knew or thought at that same … Continue reading →

Posted in Generational differences, Ideas for writing, Writing trends | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Surviving Creativity

Posted on August 16, 2023 by knlistman

When I was much younger I studied Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Despite his theory that fulfillment of physical and psychological needs leads to self-actualization and creativity, I found many creative people driven by something else–something that often causes them … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Ideas for writing, Literature | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Writing Like You Speak

Posted on June 15, 2023 by knlistman

When reading an author’s discussion thread, I noted that more than one person assumed the trick to creating a unique writer’s voice was “writing like you talk.” There is some truth to this if you are a good verbal storyteller. … Continue reading →

Posted in Ideas for writing, Style and voice, Teaching writing skills, Trends in books | Tagged , , | Leave a comment