Otherwhere: Monday Distraction

The sun is shining in my window! We are having a run of glorious warm, spring-like days. Here are some of the links that have caught my attention over the past week:

Writing

This, about another wildly successful indie author/publisher, will either cheer you or make you sick with jealousy.

Jennifer Louden on the art of noticing, some good advice for writers here.

Thoughts on that topic dreaded to all novelists, theme. (Don’t let the word scare you away–there’s good stuff here.)

Don’t let age stop you from writing.

On choosing viewpoint.

I’m not a fan girl of Chuck Palahniuk, but I did like this article, especially the end.

50 great writing blogs.

Knitting

I know, this is a blog about writing. But I can’t resist this article about men who knit and the link to the two cool guys from whom I got it.

What are you reading about/interested in/writing about this week?

Photo by Erik Newth

Charlotte

Charlotte Rains Dixon mentors creative writers from passionate to published. Charlotte is a free-lance journalist, ghostwriter, and author. She is Director Emeritus and a current mentor at the Writer's Loft, a certificate-writing program at Middle Tennessee State University. She earned her MFA in creative writing from Spalding University and is the author of a dozen books, including The Complete Guide to Writing Successful Fundraising Letters, and Beautiful America’s Oregon Coast. Her fiction has appeared in The Trunk, Santa Fe Writer’s Project, Nameless Grace, and Somerset Studios and her articles have been published in Vogue Knitting, the Oregonian, and Pology, to name a few. Her novel, Emma Jean’s Bad Behavior, was published in 2013, and she is represented by Erin Niumata at Folio Literary. Learn about her annual writing workshops in Europe at letsgowrite.com, and visit her blog at www.charlotterainsdixon.com, where you can find all kinds of tips and techniques on writing and creativity.

0 thoughts on “Otherwhere: Monday Distraction”

Jenni Gainsborough
02/08/2016 11:01 am
Loved this from the Older Writer blog post — she says that one of the things that keeps her writing is ” finding characters desperate to tell their stories and giving them a voice.” And I think it is often through that voice that we express the themes that Steven Pressfield talks about.
Reply
1. Charlotte Rains dixon
  02/08/2016 12:15 pm
  I loved that comment, too, Jenni. My takeaway from that post was that most “Older” writers do it for the love of it, because the stories and characters call to them. There were a lot of comments to it and I followed them for a few days but gave up because there were so many of them.
  I often have a hard time with theme, as I think many of us do. Voice is one way we express it for sure. And I’m also realizing as I trudge through this current rewrite that knowing what the story is about at its core has a lot to do with it also.
  Reply
J.D.
02/08/2016 8:02 pm
Warm, spring-like days? As I write this, it is snowing here. I knew the world was upside down. Other than that, I’m glad you are doing well. You do such a marvelous job with the blog. I’ll be reading it when you’re 90. That would make me . . . .
Reply
1. Charlotte Rains dixon
  02/10/2016 4:19 pm
  I am jealous. I so want some more snow. And thank you for your wonderful compliment. Maybe they will set us up in rocking chairs next to each other at the nursing home. I just home there’s wine.
  Reply