To Ray Bradbury, with thanks and love

July 4, 2012

Last month, June 5th to be exact, Ray Bradbury died. One of my favorite authors, he would take me away to places that existed only in his imagination. A writer whose fertile imagination kept him producing — more than 27 novels and story collections and more than 600 short stories — he never stopped. As [...]

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Creating distinctive characters

June 3, 2012

Think about characters you love to watch or read about. What makes them unique? What strange tendencies, unusual habits or predilections do they have? I thought about this as I started planning exercises for my Monday Night Writers group, as a good method for creating our own memorable characters. After all, we don’t want our [...]

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Lines that stay with you…

May 26, 2012

There are certain phrases, sentences and paragraphs that stay with me once I have read them. The way the writer crafted the thought, the combination of both words and rhythm, the unique metaphor, simile or allusion that perfectly captures the concept. I don’t know how they do it—and I hope that something I write will [...]

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Work backwards? Nope, doesn’t work that way!

May 22, 2012

As I was driving last night to my monthly meeting of Monday Night Writers, I heard a great line from a radio show host: “Writing humor is easy. All you have to do is laugh and then think backwards.”

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A side benefit of hosting a writer’s class

May 6, 2012

I’ve been holding monthly writing group meetings since February, on the assumption that there are other writers like me who want to connect with like-minded creative types. But last month, I really wasn’t in the mood to do it. I was frustrated over the lack of progress with the second novel and the rejections on [...]

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Weekend writing prompt

April 14, 2012

In the spirit of Ernest Hemingway (or Twitter’s 140-character limitation!), use six words to tell your story. Then share it here! My story: Life changes but I’m always writing.  

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Coincidence? Or not…

April 7, 2012

So in the Finding Fran story line, my character is beginning to understand not only the mistakes she made in the choices of the men she became involved with but also the inherent philosophy by which she lived her life: that she needed to be in a relationship to feel fulfilled. (Notice I said “feel” [...]

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Weekend Writing Prompt

April 7, 2012

What is your idea of a perfect writing day? Spend 15 minutes describing your perfect writing day: where you are (in your home office, by the ocean, in the woods) and what you would be writing about: the project or type of writing or genre. Then share it here!

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Weekend Writing Prompt

April 1, 2012

Use the spring weather to inspire your writing. Sit outdoors for 10 minutes with your eyes closed. Use your sense of hearing and smell to focus on your environment. Then open your eyes and use that sensory experience as a trigger, writing about whatever those smells and sounds inspired. Then share it here!

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Weekend Writing Prompt

March 24, 2012

Write for 15 minutes (narrative or dialogue) using this line as the opening: “First, you’ll need a large, very sharp knife. Myself, I prefer a cleaver.” Then post the results here!

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