When I first began writing fiction it felt like all of the characters were me. Of course, all characters come from someplace deep in our psyche,
Overcoming Bored Writer Syndrome
When It’s Hard to Relate
As a writer you know you must allow your characters to live through you as they unfold on the page. But what if the character feels unlike you?
Three Keys to Scene-Weaving
Make sure your scene answers these questions before your reader asks them, unless you are deliberately withholding that information to build tension. (For more keys,
Scene-Weaving Challenge!
The Challenge
1. Take the given elements and smoothly combine them in a scene (or part of a scene).
2. Paste your scene in the comments,
Scene Weaving Class, and The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing
When her father begins having conversations with dead relatives, photographer Amina Eapen returns to her parents’ home in Albequerque, and a past she has been running from.
Writing the Hidden Story
I love those “aha!” moments when a character sneaks up on me–and I suddenly realize I’m not writing the book I thought I was writing.
Character Mashup–“Maybe Dats Your Pwoblem, Too”
This poem, by Jim Hall, is one of my favorite mashups, and I often read it in Talking to Your Characters and in Teen Poets at Bellevue College.
Talking to Your Characters–Give Them a “Dear Character” Column
Dear Character,
Twelve and a half weeks ago I loaned my best friend a set of “Cooking with Salt”
3 Ways to Coax Secrets out of Your Characters
Marvin Whickpucket refuses to behave. When you want him to defeat the evil Onchnu, he won’t. Instead, he sits on the couch,
In a Writing Rut? Steal from Another Author (but not really.)
I don’t know about you, but after years of writing, I notice that I get into a stylistic rut. As I have mentioned before on this blog,