I go volunteer in the classroom on Wednesday mornings, and recently I’ve been teaching story writing to my kids’ second- and third-grade class. Yesterday I wrote out a paragraph with six parts for them to fill in as a way to launch a story, and it struck me as something useful, startlingly clear, that I […]
The Six Keys to Story Read More »
Website – Tropes for Cheating. Google – TV Tropes New Authors Seminar – persistence is the #1 secret to breaking in, Blake Crouch – 110 rejections before publication Sean Chercover – 23 rejections, (he knew someone). His biggest mistake, not finishing the book. Royce Buckingham – 100 rejections, “Your career is not a ladder but
Notes from Crimelandia, by Bree LeMaire Read More »
I go volunteer in the classroom on Wednesday mornings, and recently I’ve been teaching story writing to my kids’ second- and third-grade class. Yesterday I wrote out a paragraph with six parts for them to fill in as a way to launch a story, and it struck me as something useful, startlingly clear, that I
The Six Keys to Story Read More »
Alfredo Corchado, author of Midnight in Mexico Descent into Darkness panel When he had second thoughts, didn’t think he could write this sweeping nonfiction book about the drug wars in Mexico, he went to see his agent. Agent: What do you think about when I say Mexico? Alfredo: (Thinks of different things, begins to explain)
Descent into Darkness panel: notes from Maureen Fan Read More »
I realized when we were making Angie’s short film that there is something wonderful, in life if not in story, about low stakes. For me, film is like my dog, while writing is like my children. I love my dog—way more than I thought I would when we got him “for the kids.” But I
I am writing this in my bedroom where I am keeping the dog quiet while Angie shoots a short film in our living room. Since I can’t at this moment be in the action—later I’ll play a small role—I am finding myself inspired to write my newsletter/ blog post! Yesterday, our friend who is playing
Creativity Begets Creativity Read More »
“It may be that some brains could benefit from a little less order.” — Michale Pollan reporting in The New Yorker on Robin Carhart-Harris’s scientific ideas and work. I am deep in the tremendous learning process that is writing. One of the reasons I believe that bright, successful adults take on the project of writing—of being
Blasting Through to Creativity Read More »
Reading. Let’s face it, that’s what got most of us into this writing business. And it’s what keeps most of us going, at the end of the day. Am I right? At present, I am reading Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking and Miranda July’s collection of short stories, No One Belongs Here More Than
Joan Didion, Miranda July, and the Permission to Write Read More »
There is the myth of the isolated artist, working alone. “We are born alone, we live alone, we die alone,” a dear friend moaned to me once when we were younger and had time to worry about such things. “Wait a minute,” I said. “We certainly are not born alone.” Seriously, how much less alone
Barn Raising Your Book: Frame, Story, and Community Read More »
At the moment I feel I HAVE what I want and have wanted most for a long time AND what I need to be living my writing life: Someone who is waiting in the wings for my efforts (agent) and The ability to focus on writing when the time presents itself. My week has been
Time, Space and Writing: Having It All, A Guest Blog by Christine O’Brien Read More »
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