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Posts tagged ‘writing tips’

Jul 18

Using difficult emotions to make your story stronger

Seven months into the year, and I realize I’ve been through so much: the passing of my mother, our two-week remodel that turned into nine-weeks, a mini-family reunion, and both expected and unexpected travel. I’ve had many different stressors and felt a gamut of emotions: sadness, grief, fear, love, joy, fatigue (well, maybe that last one isn’t exactly an emotion, but it should be!)

As I work on my next book—imagining my story and going deeper into my characters—I realize that my seven months have been a blessing, in more ways than one. Read more

Jul 16

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Write your book while dreaming

As a young girl, I was a big daydreamer. While my teachers tried to fill my blank mind with science or math or proper grammar, my head was crowded with imaginary friends, chestnut horses, and rainbow unicorns. Make-believe scenes reeled through my mind on a daily basis.

In forty-some years, not much has changed.

Now, however, I use my dreaming mind as a tool to find story ideas, develop character and plot, or find the perfect word for a poem. Read more

Jul 12

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Find writing magic in your favorite movies and books, part 2

As I write my next book, I find it helpful to think back on what has excited me about other stories or characters.

In my last post, I shared a few of my favorite scenes or ideas from the movies. Below is my list of recent in-print favorites. These are either scenes, images, objects or themes that have stuck with me and made me wish I’d come up with the them.

Novels:

Karen Marie Moning’s “Fever” series.  In her fantasy world, “Death-by-Sex” Faes can turn their powers off and on, capturing a person with lust. One of these Faes uses a pearl necklace in a very erotic, highly charged way. It’s one of the most unique and memorable “sex” scenes (there’s no actual sex) I’ve ever read. This is one of those scenes I wish I’d written. I’ve written more about this in my post, “How to Write a Good Sex Scene.” Read more

Jul 10

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Find writing magic in your favorite movies and books, part 1

Have you ever read a book or watched a movie and some image or scene makes you think, “That’s brilliant! I wish I’d thought of that!”

Last weekend, I was working on my next book and began to wonder about my favorite scenes, objects, and ideas that have wowed me in print or on the screen.

What makes them stand out? Where’s the magic?

Below are a few movies that stand out for me and why.

Movies:

Evita – My hubby and I recently saw this movie again and both started bawling in the scene where Eva is dying and her husband, Juan Peron, carries her so tenderly up the stairs. He brushes off the hired help who is supposed to help his wife and carries her himself, cradling her in his arms. The gesture is so touching, it makes his love for her come alive. I’m reminded how powerfully an outward gesture can portray an inner emotion. Read more

Jul 6

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6 tips for creating sustained energy in your writing life

This week, I’m reminded that writing is hard work in more ways than one. I’m working on a new book—brainstorming and following my 90-day plan–and am surprised at how much energy this takes.

After working for even two hours straight, going deep, and bringing up a plethora of ideas and information, I’m exhausted. I feel as if I’ve just run a race or swam for an hour. Actually, I feel more tired than if I’ve worked out because when I exercise, I usually get a rush of energy afterwards.

We writers need plenty of energy to accomplish our goals. Here are my top tips for keeping the mental gears well oiled while working on a new project: Read more

Jul 2

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Don’t write what you know, write what sets you free

Common advice given to new writers is to write about what you know. This can be good advice. For example, if you want to write legal thrillers, then having a background in law will save you research time and lend a sense of reality to your story.

Having been a paralegal for seven years, I have a background in law, but if I had to write a story with a legal theme, I’d end up as crazy as Jack in “The Shining.” So maybe better advice to a new (or seasoned) writer is to write about what interests you.

Ask yourself the following questions:

  • What are you passionate about?
  • What makes you come alive?
  • What new things would you like to learn?
  • If you had all the money in the world, what would you do?

Exercise: Set a timer for 10 minutes and answer the questions above.

In my next post, I’ll share a technique I use to help discover what interests me.

Jun 22

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Three writing posts to motivate you

I’m a writer who appreciates being able to connect to a community of other writers. Some days I’m in the flow and fine working on my own. Other days, I need that extra little nudge. This week, I found three posts to help me stay connected:

Michael Haynes’ “Write Every Day,” shares a tip for keeping ourselves on track with our writing goals. I use this same tip to track writing contest entries.

David Farland’s, “Ten Reasons Why I’ll Quickly Reject Your Story,” has tips to keep in mind when writing any kind of story.

Author Bob Mayer has a page of five short video clips taken from his writing workshops including clips on “What to Write” and how to achieve “Conflict Lock” in your novel.

Enjoy!

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