I have a friend who sets up mini-challenges for herself. She's a pro at navigating through LA traffic to get somewhere on time when it looks impossible. She not only zips from lane to lane and takes clever alternative routes, she projects thoughts to ease her journey. When she succeeds, as she usually does, it […]
Yesterday, I wrote about watching the Winter Olympics and how Bode Miller winning gold inspired thoughts about stepping up to the plate. Today the subject is story. My daughter and I were watching the men's ski cross races on Sunday night. This is a relatively new sport, and, correct me if I'm wrong, but I […]
This is the third post in a series on scenes, and specifically, flat scenes. You can find part one of the series here, and part two, here. What is a flat scene? It is one in which the emotional tenor is the same all the way through. For instance your heroine may start out the […]
What's the difference between a novel and a story? A story is shorter. Funny joke. I know, I know, don't quit my day job as a writer to to become a comedian, right? The truth of the matter is, a short story is a lot shorter than a novel, and that makes all the difference. […]
Reason Number Gazillion why its great to be a writer: because no matter what happens, you get to write about it. When your heart is broken and life sucks, at least you get to write about it. And the worse the things that happen to you, the better story they will make. What other enterprise […]
One of the prerequisites to being a writer is curiosity. Period. You can't be bored with the world if you want to write. And the good news is that writing not only forces you to engage with the world but the act of it is so engaging, that as a writer it is a crime […]
