Writing Tips
Happy New Year
It’s here . . . a brand new year with brand new writing opportunities. Here are twelve suggestions to make this your best year yet:
Showing or Telling by Carolyn Wilker
A student wrote a story about a memory from her childhood when she went on a walk by herself. Fascinated by the water that flowed in the ditch alongside the road near her home, she got into mud and was stuck. She didn’t know what to do. Fortunately, her parents were not too far away… Read more »
Curtains: Writing Effective Endings – Pamela Mytroen
Three that I come across regularly are the “Sudden-Death Curtain,” the “Preview Curtain,” and the “Curtain Call. In the Sudden-Death Curtain ending, a story or article ends without warning.
Holed Up or Hold Up?
A while back, I got to thinking about why I have such a tough time just sitting down to write. I have lots of ideas for books floating around my head. And because I work from home, I have the privilege of creating my own schedule. So, what’s the hold up?
How to “Right” Funny – Brenda Wood
I’m told that I write funny. People laugh at my comments all the time, but I can’t say that I always understand why. Anyway, there is no point trying to dissect the why of a joke because then the joke is no longer funny. Some of the world’s funniest people had no sense of humour… Read more »
The Mind’s Eye: Part 5 of Writing with Sensory Details – Sandi Somers
I had read the book Pride and Prejudice, noting that the author, Jane Austen, didn’t give many visual cues as to clothing, body language or even where the scene was located. Instead, she focused more on dialogue. The movie, in contrast, contained a lot of visual cues, showing the Bennet family home, the family at… Read more »
Fiction Writing 101: Part 9 – Beguiling Beginnings – Janice L. Dick
Plato said, “The beginning is the most important part of the work.” Kimberly Yuhl suggests you have eight words to capture your reader’s attention. Rob Weatherhead states in the article, Say it Quick, Say it Well (please excuse the grammar), that the attention span of a modern internet consumer is short. “Studies have shown that… Read more »
Faith Inspired — by Nikki Rosen
Francine Rivers authored more than 20 novels, all of them bestsellers. Rivers dreamt of being a writer even as a young child. In university she moved towards making that dream happen by majoring in English. When she heard that publishers wanted romance novels, she went to work and wrote a few love stories. She submitted… Read more »
Encouraging the Disillusioned Writer — Carolyn R. Wilker
Recently I wrote a letter to a fellow writer who had become discouraged. How could I help her get her pen moving again—or her fingers to the keyboard? After thinking on it awhile, this is what I wrote: Dear Discouraged Writer There’s so much to learn, between writer’s guidelines and grammar and the struggle with… Read more »
Don’t Lose Your Stuff! Grandpa’s Letter About Backing Up — Jack Popjes
Dear Mica, Kiki, and Ellie, I’m delighted with the latest stories you sent me! They are getting better all the time. I especially like the drawings that you made to illustrate them. I’m not at all surprised at how good your stories are, after all, you aren’t just any grandkids, you’re my grandkids. I’m also… Read more »