It’s Blogging 101: Thou shalt recap the year.
Posts Tagged ‘Writing’
It’s a Rule
Posted in Culture, Writing, tagged amazon, blogging, creative writing, ebooks, Kindle, novel writing, self-publishing, Writing on 31 Dec 2013| Leave a Comment »
An Inconvenient Idea
Posted in Writing, tagged creative writing, inspiration, novel writing, story ideas, Writing, writing techniques, writing tips on 30 Dec 2013| 6 Comments »
It is an unfortunate truth that inspiration usually strikes when you are least able to act upon it. The perfect solution to your living room furniture arrangement comes when you are away on holiday. The critical piece of a work problem comes when you are in the shower.
Today, I got an idea for a new story fifteen minutes before I had to be at work.
I’d just spent the holiday week relaxing, watching movies, streaming a new (to us) series, cooking a big meal of crab cioppino for friends, and puttering in the garage. During that time, my writer’s mind was a blank (aside from pangs of guilt over not working on my novel).
All week, nothing, and then this morning, just as I was preparing to get up and get back to the work-a-day monkey-boy grunt-job, bam.
I hate that.
Excuse me while I scribble down some notes…
k
The Art of Racing in the Rain
Posted in Books, tagged book reviews, creative writing, Garth Stein, The Art of Racing in the Rain, Writing, writing tips on 09 Dec 2013| Leave a Comment »
Though they show no particular affinity for me, I love dogs.
At my core, I’m a cat person, but I adore the dogness of dogs and the unique relationship they can have with humans. And though it may sound strange, I love the humanity of dogs, their willingness to love us and to trust us (whether we deserve it or not).
It is not a surprise, therefore, that I enjoyed Garth Stein’s The Art of Racing in the Rain. It’s told by a dog. It takes place in Seattle.
What is a surprise is how much I enjoyed it.
Seriously. This book is now on my Top Five list. As a reader, I loved it. As a writer, it taught me some lessons I’m ready to learn. (more…)
Bad Juju
Posted in Writing, tagged creative writing, novel writing, Writing, writing longhand, writing methods, writing techniques, writing tips on 20 Nov 2013| 6 Comments »
What do writers have in common with baseball players?
We’re incredibly superstitious.
A writer friend composes all her novels on this laptop. She sits on the couch, has the computer on her lap, and types away. It’s the way she works (and boy, does she work!) Well, one day her laptop was giving her problems and we all piped up with suggestions such as getting a USB keyboard, putting it up on a TV tray, or working on the other computer for a while, etc. These suggestions were all shot down because all of them messed with her successful method. She writes in a certain way and anything that is not that certain way is simply unacceptable.
I’m the same way. If anything isn’t the way that’s worked for me in the past, it’s simply unacceptable.
Hence, my current problem. (more…)
Stoking the Fire
Posted in Writing, tagged creative writing, novel writing, The Wolf Tree, Writing, writing techniques, writing tips on 13 Nov 2013| 2 Comments »
Pen has hit paper on The Wolf Tree.
Admittedly, it’s nothing to shout about. I’ve merely written and rewritten the opening line about two dozen times. We talked about opening lines a while back, and the decision I made then was to take more time working the opening line for this book. Well, I’ve been doing that.
Ever worked on a single sentence for three days? (more…)
Happily Misaligned
Posted in Culture, Writing, tagged building backstory, building believable characters, family history, veterans day, Writing on 11 Nov 2013| 1 Comment »
In outlining the new book, I create histories. As a result, and today being Veterans’ Day, I was reminded of something I discovered back in 1990.
You see, some American families have a long and celebrated history of military service. My family does not. Some families can measure their generations from war to war. My family cannot. (more…)
Once More, Unto the Breach
Posted in Writing, tagged creative writing, novel writing, The Wolf Tree, Writing, writing techniques, writing tips on 07 Nov 2013| Leave a Comment »
Life has begun (touch wood) to settle. Crises have subsided. Daily dramas have diminished. The weather has turned cold and windy and wet, calming nerves and dampening temperaments.
Now it’s time to get back to work. The Wolf Tree is once more underway.
I’ve had a few days off this week, and First Reader and I have taken long walks in the blustery drear, kicking around ideas like the autumn leaves at our feet. I’ve worked on the timelines for the intertwined stories, settled on names for the major characters, and started to flesh out their personal histories.
Kurt R.A. Giambastiani 