Tag Archives: Tools for writers
My Thoughts on Character Building
By Donna Gartshore To start with, I personally don’t use a lot of how-to books. In no way is this intended as a critique to those that do. They just never work that well for me. I believe that our true inspiration comes from God. He’s given all of us the power to… Read more »
Making a Scene: What About the Details?
“To offer readers “a break” from rising tension, you can alternate scenes of action with quieter scenes” Eleanor Bertin by Eleanor Bertin Imagine reading about one of your most ordinary days. “The sixty-four-year-old woman cast aside the rumpled sheet and fray-edged polyester blanket, swung her legs out of bed, stuffed her feet into sloppy leather… Read more »
Motifs, Symbols, and Crocheting
by Brenda J. Wood The first thought that popped into my mind was crochet. A crocheting motif is a repeated shape or stitch pattern that’s joined together to make a larger item. Surely a writing motif can’t be much different. Right? Basically, a symbol represents your idea, but a motif is an idea used repeatedly. Think of… Read more »
Developing Our Settings
By Carol Harrison She recommends stepping outside and recording everything your senses can take in. Once you choose the locale for your setting, there are other details to consider. What is the time period for your story? What season or time of day? Can your reader visualize the world you have created? What does your… 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 »
Sound Bytes: Part 4 of Writing with Sensory Details – Sandi Somers
Beethoven discovered he was losing his hearing as early as age 25. For a musician, nothing could be more disastrous. In his depression he wrote, “Alas! How could I possibly refer to the impairing of a sense which in me should have been more perfectly developed than in other people, a sense which at one… Read more »
Fiction Writing 101: Part 8 — Janice Dick
In my Fiction Writing 101 series, I often refer to James Scott Bell and his writing books and tools, especially Plot & Structure. My copy is well-marked and highlighted. That’s where I first heard the differentiation between an OP and a NOP. OPs are Outline People, NOPs are Non-Outline People. The abbreviations are easy to… Read more »
How to Write 9,000 Words per Hour and Not Wear Yourself Out — Jack Popjes
If you are like most writers, you keep a daily journal, not only for the ordinary events of life, but for the more interesting experiences—the stuff of anecdotes—as well as descriptions of people, locations, and ideas for story plots and twists. Those of us who started writing decades ago probably have shelves of handwritten journals,… Read more »
Fiction Writing 101:Part 7 — The Plot Thickens — Janice Dick
What is plot—besides a piece of ground used to bury dead people? (That’s from James Scott Bell in Plot & Structure.) In my mind, plot is the story itself, with a beginning, middle and end. Of course there are literary works that don’t follow any of the rules, not even as guidelines, but I’m thinking… Read more »