Category Archives: Writer’s resource

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

Did You Really Mean What You Said?

Dialogue in writing differs from real conversations. Fictional characters rarely ramble on for pages, circumventing what they really want to say with phrases that sound good but have hard to pinpoint meanings. Most of the uh’s, um’s and pauses in … Continue reading

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Adventures in Forbidden POVs

Currently I am reading a novella by Virginia Woolf called To the Lighthouse. It intrigues me because it broaches the problem of flat female characters found in many early twentieth century novels. Woolf reveals what’s going on in their heads. … Continue reading

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Distorted POVs

It amuses me when people ask which point of view is best. But, I probably chuckled more when a new writer asked if it was okay to describe what a character was thinking when writing in the third-person POV.   “Can’t … Continue reading

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Elusive Elaboration

My friend bubbled over with excitement about her new concept for a river adventure story. She had all the characters, the settings and the basic ideas in her mind. However, as she began writing out scenes, some of the escapades … Continue reading

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In My Head

As a child I made up stories in my head, mostly about people’s pets. The majority of them were entirely descriptions such as fur color, number of spots, eye color and size. When I bemoaned the fact that these just … Continue reading

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The Real Adventure

My parents sometimes claimed that I spent my entire childhood with my nose in a book. But, I didn’t learn how to read until I was five. Before that time I chose books with intriguing pictures in them so that … Continue reading

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Asking for Ideas

Writing a well-crafted novel is hard labor, like going through a struggle harder than childbirth. Some authors want to seek out a short-cut, a sure thing, or a fully fleshed-out plot that has been used successfully in the past. However … Continue reading

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Ending the Never Ending Story

When a new idea for a book grabs me, I dwell on it for a few days, a few weeks or or a few months in my spare time as I work on the kind of writing that makes money … Continue reading

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The Pleasure of Rereading Books

As a child I used to read Black Beauty repeatedly. This book sat open on my lap when I was supposed to be taking a nap with my head on the desk in first and second grade. Each time I … Continue reading

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The Artist’s Hierarchy of Needs

Have you ever seen the “Artist’s hierarchy of needs?” It is based on Maslow’ structure; however, the basic need for a self-actualization, or achieving one’s full potential including creative activities, is the point at the bottom on which the whole … Continue reading

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