The Defenders by Philip K Dick.pdf
Friday, October 26, 2012
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
NANOWRIMO TIPS
NANOWRIMO TIPS - With November only a few days away, the reluctant novelist might want to consider National Novel Writing Month (NANOWRIMO). What started out as a grass roots Bay Area community group has become legitimate cultural phenomenon. I have heard numerous testimonials that NANOWRIMO has helped aspiring writers realize their dreams. That being said, I haven’t done the NANOWRIMO program myself. But with so many overwhelming testimonials it’s worth checking into. At the very least you owe it to yourself to check out the page that lists published NANOWRIMO novelists. The goal is a 50,000 word novel that can be verified by uploading to the website. I have heard that a great way to get started is by using Book in a Month (BIAM) to complete scene cards, work through an outline, develop characters and the list goes on. If you are not anticipating major life changes (a new job, moving, a divorce, a new baby, etc.) in the month of November, give NANOWRIMO your best shot, your dreams are worth it, see the web link for much more information.
http://www.nanowrimo.org/
http://www.nanowrimo.org/publishedwrimos/
http://www.nanowrimo.org/
http://www.nanowrimo.org/publishedwrimos/
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Friday, October 12, 2012
21 KEY TRAITS BY JAMES V SMITH JR.
21 KEY TRAITS - Today’s
post is a snippet of a Writer’s Digest article. See below for the link that
takes you to the full article.
The 21 Key Traits of Best-Selling Fiction excerpted from The Writer’s Little Helper by James V. Smith, Jr.
1. Utility (writing
about things that people will use in their lives)
2. Information (facts
people must have to place your writing in context)
3. Substance (the
relative value or weight in any piece of writing)
4. Focus (the
power to bring an issue into clear view)
5. Logic (a
coherent system for making your points)
6. A sense of connection (the
stupid power of personal involvement)
7. A compelling style (writing
in a way that engages)
8. A sense of humor (wit or
at least irony)
9. Simplicity (clarity
and focus on a single idea)
10. Entertainment (the
power to get people to enjoy what you write)
11. A fast pace (the
ability to make your writing feel like a quick read)
12. Imagery (the
power to create pictures with words)
13. Creativity (the
ability to invent)
14. Excitement (writing
with energy that infects a reader with your own enthusiasm)
15. Comfort (writing
that imparts a sense of well-being)
16. Happiness (writing
that gives joy)
17. Truth (or at
least fairness)
18. Writing that provokes (writing
to make people think or act)
19. Active, memorable writing (the poetry in your prose)
20. A sense of Wow! (the wonder your writing imparts on a reader)
21. Transcendence (writing
that elevates with its heroism, justice, beauty, honor)
http://www.writersdigest.com/qp7-migration-books/the-21-key-traits-of-best-selling-fiction?et_mid=574188&rid=2992568
Monday, October 8, 2012
Saturday, October 6, 2012
FRANKENSTEIN
Frankenstein by Mary ShelleyMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
FRANKENSTEIN - This horror story has elements of mystery, supernatural, a gloomy setting and a character that bridges the worlds of the living and undead. The result is arguably the most identified classic gothic novel. The genesis of Frankenstein came to Mary Shelley in a dream. She was a part of a group visiting Lord Byron (poet of the romantic movement) confined to a villa remaining indoors due to incessant rain. He issued the famous challenge to write a horror story, which ultimately led to Frankenstein and John Polidori writing The Vampyre. Percy Bysshe Shelley was in the villa also, a prominent romantic poet in his own right, as well as Mary’s husband. I am particularly fond of the 1931 film version starring Boris Karloff. Don’t be put off by the movie era or black and white format. This was a pre-code film that didn’t flinch from controversial content. The pace is quick, black/ white reinforces the tone, utilizes stark visual imagery and pioneering movie effects/ sets. This is a classic Universal Pictures monster picture in an era where no other studio could have done it better. Not to be missed!
View all my reviews
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Monday, October 1, 2012
From the Bootheel Cotton Patch: GUEST BLOGGER CHAD SCHIMKE
From the Bootheel Cotton Patch: GUEST BLOGGER CHAD SCHIMKE: Today’s blog post showcases guest blogger Chad Schimke. He is the author of two novels, Picker and Pieces. Along with two novelettes, Walker...
Sunday, September 30, 2012
STEINBECK WRITING TIPS
John
Steinbeck, a Pulitzer Prize winning author (Grapes of Wrath) and Nobel
laureate offers six basic tips on writing in his interview it the Fall 1975
issue of The Paris Review.
1.
Abandon the idea that you are ever going to finish. Lose track of the 400
pages and write just one page for each day, it helps. Then when it gets
finished, you are always surprised. (This concept of small daily incremental
progress is key to long term writing success.)
2.
Write freely and as rapidly as possible and throw the whole thing on
paper. Never correct or rewrite until the whole thing is down. Rewrite in
process is usually found to be an excuse for not going on. It also interferes
with flow and rhythm which can only come from a kind of unconscious association
with the material. (Self-censorship and a constant reworking of material
day-by-day is absolutely antithetical to finishing anything!)
3.
Forget your generalized audience. In the first place, the nameless, faceless
audience will scare you to death and in the second place, unlike the theater,
it doesn’t exist. In writing, your audience is one single reader. I have found
that sometimes it helps to pick out one person—a real person you know, or an
imagined person and write to that one. (This helps to tell a story with real
intimacy. It’s just you and one other person.)
4.
If a scene or a section gets the better of you and you still think you
want it—bypass it and go on. When you have finished the whole you can come back
to it and then you may find that the reason it gave trouble is because it
didn’t belong there. (Constant forward momentum is the only way anything gets
done. Don’t let any one scene, or sequence stop or stymie you.)
5.
Beware of a scene that becomes too dear to you, dearer than the rest. It
will usually be found that it is out of drawing. (Kill kill kill your
darlings.)
6.
If you are using dialogue—say it aloud as you write it. Only then will it
have the sound of speech. (This is excellent advice even for purely narrative
passages too!)
Follow
the link below to the full article.
http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/4156/the-art-of-fiction-no-45-continued-john-steinbeck
http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/4156/the-art-of-fiction-no-45-continued-john-steinbeck
Friday, September 28, 2012
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Monday, September 24, 2012
SUDDEN FEAR
Sudden Fear by Edna SherryMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
SUDDEN FEAR – A playwright fires an actor as she workshops her play prior to opening night. Sudden Fear by Edna Sherry inspired the movie starring Joan Crawford in 1952. Myra Hudson becomes embroiled in a tangled web of a murder plot, a double cross, jealous rivals, a frame job and a counter attack. With her husband, a bourgeois girl she saves from drowning, her secretary and her financial advisor. This classic novel of psychological suspense novel keeps the reader guessing as the author lets the elaborate plot unravel. This is a must read!
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