Category Archives: Writer’s resource

Discussion a range of topics for those interested in improving their writing skills

From Music to Words

Posted on November 23, 2023 by knlistman

My first experience with music as an inspiration for writing occurred in the summer between high school and college. I lay in bed at night listening to the radio and trying to go to sleep when a pop song with … Continue reading →

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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 →

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Writing with a Divided Mind

Posted on November 2, 2023 by knlistman

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 →

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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 →

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Writing and Age

Posted on September 14, 2023 by knlistman

As writers get older and improve at their skill, they sometimes bemoan the lost years of youth—time when they had more energy and yet were not writing. There are excuses that we give ourselves. Getting an education, working to pay … Continue reading →

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Who Are the Grammar Police?

Posted on September 7, 2023 by knlistman

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 →

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How Monumental Should Fantasy Heroes Be?

Posted on August 10, 2023 by knlistman

Fantasy provides a kind of escapism for young adults (and even some older adults). Characters come from a less technological era, in which a teenager could be considered an adult capable of making all their own decisions. The popular fantasy … Continue reading →

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Everyday Fantasies

Posted on August 3, 2023 by knlistman

Years ago when I coached teams of graded school-aged children for Odyssey of the Mind, I learned about imagination in the psyche of the preadolescent child. Some children wanted to be conformists and preferred not to suggest ideas that were … Continue reading →

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Predicting the Future of AI

Posted on July 27, 2023 by knlistman

In science fiction, predictions of a future that did not occur were made by authors such as Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Robert Heinlein, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C Clark, and Isaac Asimov. No one has traveled to the center of the … Continue reading →

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Searching for a Quest

Posted on July 21, 2023 by knlistman

I first encountered Lord of the Rings while I was in high school and J.R.R. Tolkien was still alive. Like most people in the United States I had never heard of him before. However, my friends were enthused about a … Continue reading →

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