Category: Musings
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Of Silence, The Three-Act Structure and Death…
Dreams are but stories that possess a beginning, middle and end. Recognizing this Aristotle superimposed this organization of dreams–his three-act structure onto that of plays and stories to render them more comprehensible. Dreams, like stories and plays, hold drama, and their trajectory of plot often includes a dilemma, even if the problem is one of…
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Of Mantras, Writing, and Knowing When to Tell…
Your story lives within you. Write with it rather than about it. –Martha Alderson of Plotwhisperer for Writers and Readers “Don’t talk your story out. Write it.” I heard that a lot during my participation in many writing workshops, but not so much like the almost broken mantra, “Show. Don’t tell,” regarding the development of…
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Smog Checks, The Publishing World, and Integrity…
Editors encounter problems and resistance when after stating a manuscript needs work then proceed to explain how they can abandon, or as is often the case, assist with developmental editing in addition to providing copy edits. This situation resembles the gas station mechanic who after stating your car failed smog inspection then says, “And I…
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Blogging, Promoting, Revising and Editing…
Whatever difficulties we have experienced with editors writers need the help of editors. An unedited book placed on the market for public purchase diminishes our integrity as writers and demeans the skill to crafting fiction to which we aspire. If writing a book was as simple as putting the words on paper and sending it…
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Natalie Goldberg, Writing and a Reader’s Time…
With the help of Natalie Goldberg in her book, Thunder and Lightening: Cracking Open the Writer’s Craft, I learned how better to purchase books. I read the first page. If putting the book back on the shelf causes distress, leaves me hungering to know more about what will happen with the characters then I purchase…
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Of John Gardner, Writing and The Worm Hole Experience…
“Any event that seems to the given writer startling, curious, or interest-laden can form the climax of a possible story.” –John Gardner in The Art of Fiction Climax is that place in the story or novel where the protagonist, the main character, reveals in action, that she or he has integrated knowledge gained through the…
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Ethics, Revisions and the Search for an Editor…
There are times where my writing runs head-on with my blogging. By writing I mean work on my novel. Presently, my novel, “The House” due out this summer is back from the copy editor, Shon Bacon. Once I make all the suggested changes I will forward the manuscript to my developmental editor for one more…