Tomorrow I lose. That is, daylight savings time ends before the sun rises, and I will be losing an hour tomorrow when I (along with most of the United States & Canada) set my clocks ahead. That’s an hour to sleep or an hour to dream or an hour to write. Still, I’m not that […]
Spring Forward: by Devi Laskar Read More »
Honestly, this blog should have Elizabeth’s authorship. 🙂 In last night’s mentoring class in the Book Writing World, we had an important discussion about character arc, and what that meant to each individual writer when he or she talked about “character arc.” Elizabeth asked, “What engages you, frustrates you, confuses you about character arc? Where
Questions of Character Arc: by Devi Laskar Read More »
Superman tugged at his curly-q bang, surprised to discover his hair had gotten so long he could pull it down in front of his eye. “Wow,” he muttered to himself, letting go of the lock, watching it boing while resenting the universe for giving him such curly hair. He glanced down at the blank page
An Antidote for Writer’s Kryptonite: by James Black Read More »
I am deep in a final revision (final, that is, until the next round–led, I hope, by editors who want to publish my book or, if must be, by my agent) of my novel-in-progress. I thought I’d share a bit about my process for editing myself. Devi, our blog editor, recently re-published some of my posts
Writing is Rewriting . . . and Rewriting . . . and Rewriting . . . by Elizabeth Stark Read More »
The amazing writer and Barnard professor Mary Gordon crossed Broadway one semester while I was in graduate school, and a dozen lucky students at Columbia got her attention and fine instruction for a short time. We learned so much, and I still use many of her writing tricks and tips today, most especially every time
Comfort Food: by Devi Laskar Read More »
During last week’s mentoring class in the Book Writing World, Elizabeth had us doodle with a purpose. It was a very helpful exercise, creating a “concept map” for our novels or memoirs in progress. A concept map is much like a child’s rendition of a spider, except with many more legs and heads. The idea
Cartography: by Devi Laskar Read More »
Recently in the Book Writing World there seems to be a lot of chatter about writer’s block and a lull that washes over you right after finishing a big project, let’s say, your novel or memoir. I have the lull, and I’m not even done yet. ☺ My BWW colleague James Black had an antidote
Birdsongs: by Devi Laskar Read More »
During a recent mentoring class in the Book Writing World, Elizabeth was asked about revision and critiquing. I have unearthed a very helpful list of things “to do” and “to think about” Elizabeth put together a few years ago. These are 10 steps to take as you finish your manuscripts and figure out how to
Being Your Own Best Editor: by Elizabeth Stark Read More »
A long time ago, a friend of mine was getting married in an empire waist dress with a garland of flowers in her hair. She asked me if I thought her wedding choices were silly. I told her that your wedding is like your bedroom: it only needs to feel right to you (and your
The Critiquing Eye: by Elizabeth Stark Read More »
As I shared a few weeks ago, I set a goal to finish the third full draft of my manuscript by February 16, the day before I left for a momentum-stifling business trip. Goal attained. The most impressive aspect of the accomplishment is that I stopped. It was time to let go of the novel
This Vacation is All I Ever Wanted: by James Black Read More »
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