Hello! I hope you had a fantastic Holiday! Back to work, right? I woke up this morning to -24 (with windchill). Which means it’s hard to get my brain moving. …
Using Body Language to Write Stronger Characters
Sometimes I look up from writing a scene at my computer and my family is watching me. One or two of them look concerned. Another one is muffling laughter behind …
Learning By Reading
I found a book that looked interesting to me on Barnes & Noble’s site.
A story set in the ’30s and had some element of football in it. So I downloaded it.
Devoured it. The story captured me. The writing… I didn’t spend half my time rewriting the sentences in my head or pondering why the character was acting without proper motivation.
I told Susie, “You have to read this book!”
And, as it was set in the ’30s and had football element to it, she was keen to give it a go.
Two days later she emails. “I’m mad at you! I stayed up until 2:00 a.m. reading that book.”
By now, I’m dying to talk to her about it because it had some fascinating elements. But she halted me from gushing on and on until she finished.
THEN, we had a long talk, breaking it down, decided what worked, what didn’t, why we liked it, how we could learn from this author.
The What and Why of Writing: Essence
At the beginning of a novel, a character starts out in his identity – who he thinks he is. By the end of the story, if you’ve developed the story correctly, he ends up in his essence – who he really is.
What’s The Advantage of A Writers Retreat
I’m in sunny yet sometimes rainy Destin, Florida at the 5th annual Deep Thinkers Retreat.
Seventeen writers (all women at this event) gathered to learn the craft of writing a novel.
There’s laughter, fun, frustration, confused looks, pondering, break throughs and friendships being forged.
A writers retreat like Story Crafters and Deep Thinkers is the pressure cooker of learning craft.
You can’t escape. It’s all around you!
Everyone is talking, breathing, sleeping STORY!
So how do you know if a writers retreat is right for you?
It is a commitment of time and money.
Are you really ready to invest in your writing journey at the retreat level?
Maybe you’re asking what’s the difference between a retreat and a conference.