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
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."
- In: The Write Place
In WPM (Writer's Portable Mentor) there is a chapter that is dedicated to learning to see, which will greatly help your writing. As a fine artist, this is one of the major lessons I've learned, to see shapes instead of things. Everything is made of light and shadow. It took me awhile before I finally got it. I've taught art lessons and realized how difficult it was to try to teach someone to see shapes instead of things.
- In: The Write Place
In the Writer's Portable Mentor(WPM), author Priscilla Long gave many examples of words that have high frequency sounds associated with high energy words and low frequency sounds associated with low frequency words. In Dylan Thomas' poem, the words "Rage, rage against the dying of the light' are words that emit high energy. Low frequency words, like bone and moan bring us down. High frequency words like scream and bee, have high energy connected to them.