Advice for Writing, Editing, Reading, and Life.
New posts on Mondays (for non-fiction) or Fridays (for fiction)
Anatomy of Storytelling: Do Stories Require Language?
Imagine that meaning is water. To know how much water you have, you need a system of measurement. To move the water from place to place, you need a bucket. Until you put your story into a language, it cannot be carried by someone else.
Ten More Prompts to Get You Writing
Here are ten more prompts. You can use these to begin a writing journey, or you can use them to give your brain a rest from a project that has you pulling hair out. You can use them to try a new genre you don’t normally write in, or to get some extra practice in your preferred genre. You can share the resulting work or keep it to yourself. Just write.
A Case Study on Theme: Beauty and the Beast (1991 vs. 2017)
Obviously, any great work of fiction can have more than one theme, but there is usually one central theme that any other themes hang on; a trunk from which other themes can branch. The themes of 1991’s Beauty and the Beast deal with prejudice, freedom, love, and forgiveness. And the 2017 remake fumbles basically all of those. But none more egregiously than the “trunk” that made ‘91 so great.
April 28–30, 2022
Three poems (for April 28, 29, and 30, 2022), the conclusion to the Poem-a-Day challenge.
April 25–27, 2022
Three poems (for April 25, 26, and 27, 2022), as a part of the Poem-a-Day challenge.
April 24, 2022
A limerick for #LimerickSunday, as a part of the Poem-a-Day challenge for #NationalPoetryMonth.
April 22 and 23, 2022
Two poems (for April 22 and 23, 2022), as a part of the Poem-a-Day challenge.
April 18–21, 2022
Four poems (for April 18, 19, 20 and 21, 2022), as a part of the Poem-a-Day challenge.
April 15–17, 2022
Three poems (for April 15, 16, and 17, 2022), as a part of the Poem-a-Day challenge.
April 13 and 14, 2022
Two poems (for April 13 and 14, 2022), as a part of the Poem-a-Day challenge.
April 10, 2022
A poem for Palm Sunday (April 10, 2022) as a part of the Poem-a-Day challenge.
The Paradox of Platform
If you already have a built in fan-base from another venture, such as internet videos or a television show, your book will be a much easier sell than someone with no web presence, regardless of how good or bad either book actually is. As a person with virtually no platform, I know how that sounds—envious and a little bitter. To some extent it probably is, I confess, but it’s also just the reality of producing art for profit.
Five Characteristics of a Great Writing Group
Like it or not, you will never be all you can be as a writer until you open yourself up to outside feedback. Every writer needs an editor, every editor needs a reader, and every reader needs a writer. A critique group is a wonderful way to begin widening the circle of people who see and respond to your work, but I don’t recommend just thoughtlessly messaging people in hopes of finding a group. So this week, I want to discuss some things to look for in a critique group.
Nothing New Under the Sun: What To Do When Your Idea Isn’t Completely Original
Much of western fiction is some re-imagining of the Monomyth, and even when it’s not, all ideas are inspired by something that already exists. So, what should you do when you inevitably find out that the idea you’ve been nurturing… well, the Simpsons already did it?
Why Write? Because I Love Exploration
For better or worse, there’s not a whole lot left on earth that hasn’t been explored. You have the depths of the ocean and the farthest reaching recesses of cave systems. Everything else has pretty much been found and mapped.
Writing opens a loophole.
Why Write? Because I Love to Read
I love reading.
I write in hopes that somehow I’ll leave a lasting impression on someone else. I write because I firmly believe there cannot be too many books. I write because no one knows better what I love about books than I do. I write because the idea of living in a world where there’s less to read than there could be is tragic.