Charlotte Rains Dixon

The Detail Draft

I've been thinking a lot about details lately. Because, as we all know, all good writing is full of details–sensory details, the telling detail, details. And, it has occurred to me that a worthy approach to details is to devote one complete draft to them. Details are something that can easily added in during a […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 13 years ago11/03/2015

Books

The Benefits of Reading

Now, I know you read a lot. Because, you're a writer. And writers not only write, they read. It's the way of the world. Reading is why most of us got into this game in the first place. (Brief aside: you'd be surprised how many wannabe writers I've run into who don't read. When someone […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 13 years ago11/03/2015

Short stories Story

The New Short Story Market

I used Grammarly to grammar check this post, because even though I'm a writer, I don't always get my grammar correct! I am submitting a short story to Amazon Kindle Singles sometime this weekend, after I get the query letter perfected and go through it one more time. It's a story I originally wrote when […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 13 years ago11/03/2015

Uncategorized

A First Look at Eric Maisel’s Making Your Creative Mark

Eric Maisel is practically a one-man industry. Well, he invented an industry–that of creativity coaching. In his own creativity coaching practice, he’s worked with MacArthur fellows, best-selling authors, Academy Award winners, painters, musicians, all kinds of creators. And not only that, he’s written books–tons of ’em, several of which I have read and enjoyed. So […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 13 years ago11/03/2015

Character Conflict

Creating Characters: Compassion and Conflict

I was quite taken with this post from Sandra Pawula on compassion when I read it last weekend. (I'm actually quite often taken with admiration for Sandra's posts. If you haven't discovered her blog, go read it now.) In the post, Sandra writes about how compassion is linked to boundless, deep love and then, and […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 13 years ago11/03/2015

Ideas

The World is Your Writing Oyster

A couple weeks ago I was greatly taken by a lecture I heard about the writing life, given by Helena Kriel at the Spalding MFA spring residency. The talk was, essentially, about how everything in the world feeds into our writing lives and our writing–if we are but present to the world. Further, when we […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 13 years ago11/03/2015

Writing Exercises

The Usefulness of Writing Exercises

I am a terribly fickle person. Most often, this fickleness applies to activities. Like cooking, for instance. I'll go on a kick where I'm interested in cooking. I buy cookbooks, I look up recipes, I watch the Food Network, I actually cook meals and occasionally even bake things. Then it all falls apart. My interest […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 13 years ago11/03/2015

Guest Post

Guest Post: Creative Fuel

And the winner is: Julie Schwartz! Congratulations, Julie, I've sent your contact info to Karen and she'll be in touch with you soon. (By the way I used this random name selector to choose.) Please join me in welcoming my special guest post contributor, Karen Caterson, today. Readers of this blog know that Karen and […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 13 years ago11/03/2015

Emma Jean Mindset

That Thing You Worry About? It Will Set You Free

I worried about it all week. My reading at the Spalding MFA residency was scheduled for 4 PM on Friday, as part of the alumni homecoming weekend. Six alums who had recently published books would read and afterward, sell and sign books. And I was nervous. Nervous because I’d spent the week immersed in the […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 13 years ago11/03/2015

Marketing

What to Do About Marketing (Or, Feeling at Home in Two Worlds)

I'm in Louisville this week at the Spalding MFA residency and one of the things I've heard over and over again is writers bemoaning the fact they don't have enough time to write. We've got jobs, and families, and bills to pay and carpools to drive and a million other things to do. And added […]

Charlotte Rains Dixon 13 years ago11/03/2015

Looking for a Great Read? Look No Further!