The Write Place
Here you will find everything to do with writing, whether it is my writing or what I'm learning from reading books on writing. Reading, vocabulary, and grammar are the tools of the trade. The very best people to learn from are the ones who are seasoned writers who teach writing. You would be wise to enlist them as your mentors, as I have.
- In: The Write Place
In this chapter, Priscilla Long noted how when a panel of authors with differing backgrounds and genres were brought together they all stressed the same habits that every writer should adopt - write 1000 words a day and write using a structure. Now, personally, I would suggest, if you are a writer and this is your profession, not a hobby, you must write far more than 1000 words a day. I recently wrote a short story to see just how long 1000 words were and how long it took me to write. If I had continued writing it at one sitting, it wouldn't have taken more than 20-30 minutes or so. I think we can spend a little more time than that. Again, I'm talking to the professionals out there.
The second suggestion, using a structure, was something that I'm sure I do, and we probably all do, but not something we are consciously thinking about. She outlines 4 structures - Theme, Collage, Two or Three Strand, and Dramatic Story. How you choose your structure depends on the kind of story you will be telling.
When I sit down at my computer or my notebook to write, I'm not thinking 'what structure am I using?' But I'm sure, instinctively, I'm using one of the structures as outlined in Priscilla Long's book. Ms Long suggests you figure out structures by reading for structure. The only problem is, once you start reading for structure, it might be hard to go back to reading for pleasure!
- In: The Write Place
What Is it? The New England Authors Expo
When Is it? Wednesday, July 29 - 4pm to 9pm
Where Is it? Danversport Yacht Club
161 Elliott St. (Rte 62)
Danvers, MA 01923
I will be selling my three books in the Harborview Ballroom: The House at the Top of the Trees, and just off the press, Eddie Easel and the Case of the Missing Green, and The Miracle Dog.
This is a great event to promote local authors. The NEAE event was founded by Christopher Obert, owner of Pear Tree Publishing.
Come early, stay late! This is a FREE event. The first 100 visitors receive a free gift bag!
- In: The Write Place
Another interesting writer's handbook that I've been reading is called "On Writing Well" by William Zinsser - a guide specifically for writing non-fiction.
In one chapter, he talks about "clutter" or what I'm calling "wordy words". For example, listen to any politician speak. Any idea what they are saying? Or when you attend a company business meeting where a major layoff is about to take place (I experienced a few of these in the 1990's.) The CEO or "company henchman" tries to explain to the employees, in as many words as possible, why downsizing is for the good of the company and all of the employees. But they just never quite get around to saying it so you leave the meeting wondering what just happened...or what is about to happen.
- In: The Write Place
I recently saw a post on Facebook from one of my relatives who made a comment about her brother now adding art to his repertoire of talents, making him a ‘Renaissance man.’ I had to laugh only because for years now I have been referring to myself as a ‘Renaissance woman.’ As a fine artist, self-published author, and entrepreneur with several on-line businesses who also has personal interests in weight-lifting, golfing, walking, and reading, to name a few, I certainly have aspired to be deserving of the title ‘Renaissance woman.’ So this spurred me to look online to see what I could find out about the term ‘Renaissance woman or man’.
- In: The Write Place
As Priscilla Long says in WPM (Writer's Portable Mentor), "rooms stand for lives; objects hold history." Giving our characters objects that represent a more than humble existence or putting them in a dining room as exquisitely decorated as in Downton Abbey, gives one a feel for the kind of life each exists in.
"Settings mirror lives," Ms Long states. Settings and objects are interrelated since objects in a setting help define the character that would be found in such a setting. "A room can stand for a character's mood - it can look dreary or the dust can dance. We can deepen our work by observing setting and objects (places and things) and using them to enrich every page."