Warming up for NANOWRIMO

Do you have your ‘what if?’ ready? http://www.amazon.com/What-Writing-Exercises-Fiction-Writers/dp/0062720066 http://ezinearticles.com/?Creative-Writing-Prompts—What-If?&id=3952836 http://www.writing.com/main/handler/item_id/770807-What-if-Prompts http://www.writingforward.com/journal-writing/journal-prompts/what-if-journal-prompts http://murderby4.blogspot.com/2009/07/writing-what-if-scenario.html

Muse Killers

When I am going through emotional trauma, I can’t write. I think that makes sense, mostly, but when it is over, I have a hard time recovering and writing again. I have to start with drawing, sometimes, or some other creative outlet. I wonder if other authors go through this or if it’s just so […]

Evolution of a Sidekick – Why Does A Hero Need One?

Why does a hero need a sidekick? I think we can sum this up PERFECTLY by going to the first story to introduce a sidekick: The Creation Genesis Chapter 2 20 …. but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. 21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon […]

Evolution of a sidekick – What IS a sidekick?

I have this totally awesome dictionary of slang that my husband gave me for Christmas: It is 1400 pages of bad grammar and taboo words from throughout the ages with an etymology and everything (when applicable). In this book under sidekick it reads: side-kick. A close companion; a mate, occ. an assistant, on the job; Can. […]

Evolution of a Sidekick

Yesterday I found out an article I had written more than ten years ago (when I was still wet behind the ears trying to be a writer) had been used as source material for the Wikipedia entry on Sidekicks. I got a good giggle out of being right next to a well known LA Times […]

Name Recognition

One of the most annoying familiar traits of certain genre music is the incessant need habit of speaking their name at the beginning of a song. Listen to an intro of a modern hip-hop song and when you are just getting into the riff and beat, someone will inevitably drop the names of the artists […]

We Are All Sinners

Writers have definite rules. We have Commandments, as I illustrated a few posts ago. Unfortunately, we also have heretics, sinners, apostates (not to be confused with apostrophe’s) and zealots. It is easy to become one of the aforementioned because not only are the commandments constantly changing–what edition are we on the Chicago Style?–they also contradict […]

Book Recommendations (That Actually Help You Write)

If I had a dime for every book that Writers Digest has tried to sell me, I would be a very rich woman. There is always someone trying to sell you a book with the super secret secrets of how to write a novel, how to find an agent, how to edit your novel, how […]

Thou Shalt Not – Commandments of Writing

There is nothing harder for a true believer in the Word, than discovering that you might be guilty of serious blasphemy. Such was the case for me while an acquaintance was reviewing a manuscript for me. I was informed that you can’t use contractions in the narrative. This came as quite a shock to me. […]

Perspective – And How It Feels To Be A Writer

In the book “Misquoting Jesus,” the author remarks about how an event is portrayed four different ways by four different people. He asks himself “Which way did it really happen?” He never admits to himself that it actually might have happened four different ways, all based on the perception of the person who is giving […]