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Apr 3

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How to write a good sex scene

Have you ever read a sex scene that made you cringe? I have. Have you ever read a sex scene that months, or even years, later you think back on and it still makes you sweat? I have.

The first scene, the cringe-worthy one, was written by one of my favorite male authors. It was so bad, I felt embarrassed for him. The scene was full of thrusting and grunting and other horrible, clichéd descriptions of the physical act of sex.

The second scene, the one I still think about to this day, was less about sex and more about the surroundings and emotions of the characters. Read more

Apr 2

Ray Bradbury 1975
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Improve your writing craft with this assignment from author Ray Bradbury

Renowned author Ray Bradbury has an assignment for writers who want to improve their craft.

Read one short story, one poem, and one essay every night for 1,000 nights.

At the end of 1,000 nights, your head will be full of ideas and metaphors along with your own experiences and observations of the people in your life. His aim is for us to make new metaphors out of all of these ideas and images that are bouncing around in our heads. In other words, stuff your head with literature. Read more

Mar 30

Hone your craft with these three writing posts

Writers are some of the most avid learners I know. We want to know about everything. That’s why I love reading other writers’ posts. This week, these three posts taught me something new. Enjoy!

Finding Your Natural Writing Voice by Charlotte Rains Dixon. Some great ideas on finding the “voice” of your story.

Keep ’em Hooked by Laura Griffin. Are you making these mistakes in your chapter endings? If so, try these fixes.

Realistic Expectations for Writing a Memoir by Bill Roorbach, with Kristen Keckler. My favorite part of this short article is the last paragraph on polishing your work.

Mar 29

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How writing changes us so we can change others

I have a theory that writing poems, or any form of literature, makes the world a safer, kinder, more peaceful place, not just for the meaning expressed in the sentences, but the effect the act of writing has on the writer and in turn readers.

Writing is a great equalizer — a way of connecting with people and by extension, the world. Because no matter where they live, people share the same feelings of loss and joy in the midst of tragic and hopeful circumstances.

Writing celebrates universal moments of surprise, love, and humor. It helps put perspective on our troubles. Transforms. Many people have been silenced until someone else’s words or images shined a light on their suffering, giving a voice to the voiceless.

Remember for a moment the heartbreak and joy we feel as we write — that connection with our characters and our humanity. Now imagine that when we do this for ourselves, we do it for the reader.

How has writing changed you?

Photo by Scott Bourne – Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs Creative Commons

Mar 28

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One way to exercise your writer’s mind and have fun

In Ayn Rand’s The Art of Fiction: A Guide for Writers and Readers, she recommends exercising our writer minds long before we actually put words to paper. Then when we do begin to write, the ideas and words flow. I like her advice and think of it in terms of being playful and having fun.

As I read, sometimes a sentence or phrase stops me in my tracks. When this happens, I like to examine the sentence, learn from it or just play around with it.

This happened to me recently when I read this line: “Men do not often boil a woman’s rabbit.” I was reading best-selling author Bob Mayer’s description of different archetypes of men and women. At first, this sentence stopped me because I didn’t understand it. I had to take a few minutes to wrap my brain around it. Finally, I got the meaning—we often see women “boiling a man’s rabbit,” but not vice versa. Read more

Mar 27

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A letter to my perfectionist friend: Follow your calling

Dear friend who says she has not started her book because she is a perfectionist:

Yesterday when we talked, you said you had an idea for a book but hadn’t started it yet. You cited being a “perfectionist” as the reason you’ve been blocked.

Give yourself a break. Writing by its nature is imperfect. Our pages are works in progress. Writing is a messy business. Words and ideas rarely flow onto the page the way we picture them in our minds. Sentences may feel awkward. Just when we think we know where our story is going, it stalls.

Beyond certain principles of storycraft, writing, like many other art forms, is subjective. No one writes a “perfect” manuscript on the first try. That’s why they’re called “drafts.”

Blank pages are clean and crisp – and boring. Read more

Mar 26

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Five traits of successful authors

When I first started my own business, I had an opportunity to earn a luxury car from the company I worked for. Problem was, I’d never owned a luxury car. I was raised middle class, worked my may through college, and struggled for years to pay the bills. Driving a luxury car was not part of my reality.

But I really, really wanted that car. I knew I had to change my belief system. So I created a little song about that car and the belief that I could earn it. Fortunately, I don’t remember the song now, but for weeks, as I went on my daily three-mile walk, I sang that little song to myself. I put all of my intention in that song. Gradually, my belief system began to change and, within six months, I earned that car.

I’ve always studied successful people. Over the years, I’ve listened to self-improvement tapes, read self-help books, gone to seminars and even hired a personal coach. I was motivated to change.

Becoming a successful author or artist is no different. Of the authors I’ve studied, I’ve found several common denominators:

  • Successful authors have a system. Author Dean Koontz gets up every morning, goes to his home office and writes. Eight hours or more a day. Consistently, day in and day out. Read more
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