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- No! I’m Not Insane
- Is “Show Don’t Tell” Good Advice?
- What Exactly is Imagery?
- The Writing Sampler
- Classics Don’t Qualify as Comps
- Dealing with Painful Critiques
- The Power of Laughter
- Scoring Your Sense of Humor
- Why Do We Read Emotions?
- Distinguishing types of laughter
- Why Not AI?
- The Price of Staying Connected
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Category Archives: Teaching writing skills
The Writing Sampler
I recall a time when I could amble through a mall and be approached by marketing interviewers. If I fit the criteria, I could spend twenty minutes of time providing my opinion in exchange for a few dollars or coupons … Continue reading
Posted in Creativity, Ideas for writing, Literature, Teaching writing skills
Tagged books, content, critiques, Fiction, grammar, Publishing, trends, Writing, writing-tips
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Classics Don’t Qualify as Comps
Before attending my first writer’s conference in Oklahoma, I poured over the biography of all the speakers. Each one was asked to disclose a classic novel in their want to read list. Despite the different books listed I was shocked … Continue reading
Posted in Drama and movies, Literary devices, Psychology, Teaching writing skills, Trends in books
Tagged agent, books, comparable-comp, dark-fiction, dostoevsky, Fiction, Literature, Publishing, Writing
3 Comments
Why Not AI?
I write under a curse that requires me to experiment and revise as I create. Despite considering ideas, creating outlines to guide me and re-reading my initial work to improve it, the quality of my writing is not consistent. Unfortunately, … Continue reading
A Stuck Character
The character that I’ve imagined is stuck. Literally. He’s in solitary confinement, or in a dungeon, or abandoned on an island, and I know how he’s going to escape. But, for now he’s stuck. Should I just jump ahead to … Continue reading
The Happiness Requirement
“And they lived happily ever after” is not just a matter of fairy tales. A Happily Ever After (HEA) ending remains a favorite of many readers and has likely been one ever since stories were first told. In this age … Continue reading
Journeying away from the Hero’s Journey
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
Why Don’t They Like My Writing?
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 Beta reader, Criticism, critique, genre, originality
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Grasping at Ideas
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
Writing with a Divided Mind
In the 1930’s, an Oberlin College English major named Roger W. Sperry worked at a campus cafe and provided transportation for a physically disabled psychology professor. Sitting in on luncheons and meetings among eminent psychologists introduced him to a new … Continue reading
Posted in Creativity, Psychology, Style and voice, Teaching writing skills
Tagged Creativity, intonation, language, Left brain, poetry, right brain, speech
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Who Are the Grammar Police?
As I perused research about grammar police, I found one study with a conclusion that I had already deduced myself. No matter how much of a thought provoking story or essay that I create, the people who notice every misspelling … Continue reading
Posted in Style and voice, Teaching writing skills, Writer's resource, Writing trends
Tagged extroversion, grammar, introversion, spelling, usage, Writing
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