"The stories people tell have a way of taking care of them. If stories come to you, care for them. And learn to give them away where they are needed. Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to stay alive."
"Development is the sweaty part of writing. This is what separates the writer from the onlooker, the person who is always going to write a novel 'some day' from the one who in fact does. It's wearying. It's dull. It's not nearly as much fun as the research. It is hard. It takes a long time."~ David Poyer
"Evaluation should move writers forward, helping them grow by identifying the strengths of the process and the product, as well as those elements or conventions that need to be addressed."
Elana Johnson's CONTROL ISSUES, set in a brainwashed society where those gifted with mind control best join the powers that be, but one rebel girl tries to beat them at their own game, to Anica Rissi at Simon Pulse, by Michelle Andelman at Lynn Franklin Associates (NA).I could not be happier! To CELEBRATE Elana's book deal, I am going to give a $10.00 Amazon gift card to one of today's commenters. I am in the mood to party on her behalf, and a party needs presents! Right? Right!
arr who ALWAYS makes me happy!
Jonathon Arntson who keeps the whole blogosphere laughing!"Don't say you were a bit confused and sort of tired and a little depressed and somewhat annoyed. Be tired, Be confused. Be depressed. Be annoyed. Don't hedge your prose with little timidities. Good writing is lean and confident."
The larger point here is one of authority. Every little qualifier whittles away some fraction of trust on the part of the reader. He wants a writer who believes in himself and what he is saying. Don't diminish this belief. Don't be kind of bold. Be bold.It's so easy to fall into the trap of qualifying statements. I see it in the writing of my students all the time. From now on, I will look more closely at my own writing. Now, where did I put those pruning shears?
"I once heard a composer on the radio say that music wasn't notes but the space between them. The same might apply for dialogue. It is the spaces between the lines that bring the dialogue to life."
Situations may seem predictable, but the people who act in them are not. The best dialogue proves this. Whether it's a comic scene or a dramatic scene. Good dialogue is always the spaces between the lines, the things left unsaid.What is your favorite dialogue advice?
~ Barry Lane
You have to keep plugging away. We are all growing. There is no shortcut. You have to put time into it to build an audience
If you've started out in pursuit of your goal
And you've really tried with your heart and your soul,
but somehow things got out of control---
START OVER.
When you've tried your best to do what you should
And you thought this time that you surely would,
But once again, you didn't do good---
START OVER.
When you've tried so hard to yourself to be true
And do the things that you know you should do,
But once again you failed to come through---
START OVER.
When the road to success seemed much too long
And each temptation was oh, so strong
And once again you gave in to wrong---
START OVER.
When you've told your friends what you planned to do
And trusted them to help you through
But soon discovered it's up to you---
START OVER.
When you know you must be physically fit,
But your hope seems gone and you're stuck in a pit
That's not the time for you to quit---
START OVER.
To start again means a victory's been won
And starting over again means a race well run
And starting over again proves it can be done
So don't just sit there---
START OVER
But the self-doubts many of us feel about bringing our humor to the page are just another of our self-critic's ploys to stop us from taking risks. Don't be disappointed if your [writing] seems unlikely to crack a smile, or might even be downright stupid. Don't try to analyze why your attempts sometimes seem to fall flat. 'Humor can be dissected, as a frog can,' wrote essayist E.B. White, 'but the thing dies in the process.' Just laugh at yourself and try again.Ballenger suggests we begin by starting a humor file. "Clip newspaper articles that make you smile and shake your head and say to yourself, 'Gosh, what a crazy world we live in.' "
"Writers aren't writers because there are bookstores with shelves and magazine racks to hold the fruit of their work. Writers are writers because they write, whether they are published or not."
1) You are able to write regularly, even when you're not in the mood.
2) If you want to, you are able to write fast without stopping. You can write until your hand hurts.
3) Your "bad" writing doesn't bother you. You know that bad writing often leads to good writing.
4) When you write, you first concentrate on what you want to say, not who might want to read it. Meaning comes before audience.
5) You frequently write about things that confuse you. You learn to like confusion, to seek it out.
6) More and more, you are surprised by what the writing is telling you.
7) You rarely think about style, except to admire it in other writers.
8) In revision, you find yourself throwing good stuff away.
9) You notice things other people miss. You remember them. You write them down.
10) You are able to recognize your good writing. It makes you happy to have written it.
Celebrate the progress you've made - even if it seems modest - by going to your favorite restaurant and ordering something really sinful, maybe something with chocolate as thick as a Greenland glacier, or a cheap hot dog smothered with yellow mustard and pickles. Eat it joyfully. Walk calmly and confidently out the door and down the block, then do a little dance on the curb. You're a writer.
I'm like a big old hen. I can't cluck too long about the egg I've just laid because I've got five more inside me pushing to get out.
"Good and worthy story problems derive from the small and the particular and the individual. Not the grandiose. Don't begin a story with the intent of writing about a grand topic, such as freedom for instance."Yes! This reminds me of Ralph Fletcher's saying, "The bigger the topic, the smaller you write." We can't write a story well if we're trying to focus on ALL of something. We need to narrow the topic until we can make it personal, emotional, powerful. Les Edgerton provides a fabulous example:
...some years ago we had civil strife in this country over states' rights versus federalism and slavery, among other things. We called it the Civil War. ...there were a great many essays and speeches written on both sides about the conflict - even without chat rooms - and most of those are now forgotten except to academics specializing in such knowledge.Wow. For me, this example was like a punch in the gut - but in a good way. The first time I read Uncle Tom's Cabin, I was crying at my desk, in front of my students, by the end of chapter three. It's powerful stuff. And Edgerton's right - it's because of her focus on specific people and their lives that we react as strongly as we do. No one has ever made me care about characters more than she did. That book hurt me, which is exactly what she wanted it to do.
What lots more people do remember about this chapter in our history, however, is a little book titled Uncle Tom's Cabin, written by a lady named Harriet Beecher Stowe. This book had a powerful effect on the nation, both the North and the South. Why? Because she focused on one particular, the life of Uncle Tom and the effect of slavery upon him.
T.H. Mafi @ Grab a Pen (OMG! Need I say more?)
er Endeavor (anyone who loves baseball like she does makes me happy!)
Paper Dolls (these darling sisters are too precious for words - go follow them and enjoy their sweet book reviews!)
n Writer (If you are not following Roxane, I say with all my heart that you should be. She is one of the most beautiful people I have ever known - inside and out!)
The Alliterative Allomorph (check out her awesome blog!)“Not to give up under any circumstances should be the motto of our life: I shall try again and again, and I am bound to succeed. There will be obstacles, but I have to defy the obstacles.”
~ Sri Chinmoy
photo source: ( www.ianbrodie.com/.../)
God Bless My Computer
Every evening
As I'm laying here in bed
This tiny little prayer
Keeps running through my head
God bless my mom and dad
And bless my little pup
And look out for my brother
When things aren't looking up
And God, there's one more thing
I wish that you could do
Hope you don't mind me asking
But please bless my computer too?
Now I know that it's not normal
To bless a mother board
But just listen for a second
While I explain to you 'My Lord'
You see, that little metal box
Holds more to me than odds and ends
Inside those small compartments
Rest a hundred of my 'BEST FRIENDS'
Some it's true I've never seen
And most I've never met
We've never exchanged hugs
Or shared a meal as yet....
I know for sure they like me
By the kindness that they give
And this little scrap of metal
Is how I travel to where they live
By faith is how I know them
Much the same as I know you
I share in what life brings them
And from that our friendship grew
"PLEASE" Take an extra minute
From your duties up above
To bless this scrap of metal
That is filled with so much love!
~ Author Unknown
Hi guys! So nice to"meet" you. I'm honored to be the chosen author for Shannon's part in the blogfest. I'm one lucky dude to be an author and have the opportunity to connect with my readers. Most people have discovered my writing through The Maze Runner, but more and more are starting to find out about The 13th Reality. I'm so proud and excited and fortunate to have two series going on at the same time - I hope you'll give them a chance. When you do, let me know what you think!!! And happy reading.....
