Contradictory Abstract Nouns (Photography Challenge) Today I’m looking at finding the artistry in artlessness and the artlessness in artistry. Artlessness has some interesting and unexpected meanings. Yes, it does mean without art, but it also means free from deceit, cunning, or craftiness; ingenuous 2. not artificial; natural; simple; uncontrived. And when I looked up ingenuous,Continue reading “Adapting to the Artistry of Artlessness”
Tag Archives: character development
Craft Book Review: The Magic Words by Cheryl B. Klein
The Magic Words: Writing Great Books for Children and Young Adults by Cheryl B. Klein is a great book for writers who are ready to take their manuscript to the next level. As an editor for Scholastic, Cheryl has experience that makes her an authority on the subject of revision and editing MG and YAContinue reading “Craft Book Review: The Magic Words by Cheryl B. Klein”
Great News for Writers and Anyone Who Wants to Write!
Sometimes things just go right. And when that happens, I get excited and want to share. I got struck by the spring cleaning bug and in my sorting and tossing, I found a copy of Writer’s Digest that was part of the swag from an author meet I went to last year. Inside was anContinue reading “Great News for Writers and Anyone Who Wants to Write!”
Conflict, suspense,tension: Keep readers reading
What keeps readers’ eyes on the page? What makes a book that you can’t put down? These are the questions I’m exploring to start the year. It’s an important topic so I’ll be covering different aspects each week this month. As usual, I’m reading, watching, and listening to everything on the subject. I amContinue reading “Conflict, suspense,tension: Keep readers reading”
Gator McBumpypants in Dee Dee Makes Three First Draft Thanks To A Thousand Words A Day
Though I did not write another 1,000 words since I reported yesterday, I did write 570 words to finish up the first draft of my third picture book in the Gator McBumpypants and friends series: Gator McBumpypants in Dee Dee Makes Three. That brings the weekend total to 2,014! By my math, I made itContinue reading “Gator McBumpypants in Dee Dee Makes Three First Draft Thanks To A Thousand Words A Day”
Tips and Tricks: Creating Revision Goals and Preparing For First Readers.
I apologize for my time away. I needed a break and an adventure to fill me up with new energy, so I could return to you with insight. I can finally see an endpoint to my revisions, at least an endpoint that will allow me to send a draft to my carefully chosen first readersContinue reading “Tips and Tricks: Creating Revision Goals and Preparing For First Readers.”
A Happy Discovery – Free Indirect Discourse: I Was Already Using It, But Now I Know When and How to Use It Correctly
I first saw the term Free Indirect Discourse while reading the chapter on Flannery O’Connor in Write Like The Masters by William Cane. Cane describes Free Indirect Discourse (FID) as “A popular technique with good writers, FID involves narrating a scene in language that contains some elements from the lexicon of one of the charactersContinue reading “A Happy Discovery – Free Indirect Discourse: I Was Already Using It, But Now I Know When and How to Use It Correctly”
Strange Pleasures Part Two *
To continue my study of strange pleasures, I took to the web in search of others’ ideas and insights on the subject. I found some interesting ideas at Wooden Boat Forum where a discussion of enjoying things from the past brought up the strange pleasures of: cutting grass with a scythe; doing laundry by hand;Continue reading “Strange Pleasures Part Two *”
Strange Pleasures and Hedonic Motivation
Spring has sprung here in the great Northwest and my interests have turned to fun and joy. Last weekend was all about planting the garden and Monday I inflated my kayak and had the lake all to myself. The inflatable kayak, acquired two years ago, suddenly became a brilliant purchase as the lake (actually aContinue reading “Strange Pleasures and Hedonic Motivation”
Exploring the Senses – Finale: Using sensory information in your writing
Through this series on exploring the senses we (you and I) have explored all the major senses and more. We’ve experimented with how sensual stimuli trigger memories that can inspire writing and played with different ways to add sensory detail to our writing. Now, I want to talk about when and how to use thisContinue reading “Exploring the Senses – Finale: Using sensory information in your writing”
Experience Writing 