Notes on a creative writing life
Now this is irony (unlike the song “Ironic” by Morissette)! My first post-lunch (a vast hoard of potluck foods and beverages from the Richard Hugo House volunteers and Costco) workshop was canceled, however, the workshop I wanted to attend at the start of the day replaced it. It’s enough to make me believe in being [...]
Writer and teach Margot Case offered a brilliant workshop at he Richard Hugo House Write-O-Rama workshop entitled Ordinary People. We read excerpts from “Robert Kennedy Saved from Drowning” by Donald Bartheleme, Sixty Stories.
I’d tried The Dead Father by Bartheleme, but found it at the wrong time and had never tried Donald Bartheleme again. What a [...]
Wow! The beat goes on! Molten meltdown of mental memes send me searching shelves for slender volumes.
I’ve tried reading On the Road by Jack Kerouac three times in my life. I forced myself to finish it last time. But apparently I was reading the wrong Kerouac or the wrong format.
My 1st choice for second period [...]
My first Write-O-Rama workshop was “Pare It Down” with Anne Leigh Parrish. A workshop to get us to write simply and therefore strongly. Think Hemingway. Not one of my favorites. Not as pathetically macho as Mailer, but too focused so-called “masculine” values for me.
The idea was to choose strong words; words of one syllable. If [...]
These are some more tips from romantic travel writer Janice MacDonald’s on First Chapters.
Don’t sweat it initially, it will change.
When you’re ready to return to it, consider the following:
start as close to the end without leaving out important information
open with action
quickly establish: who, what, where, when and why
These are some additional tips on writing [...]
The essential elements of a marketable novel author Janice MacDonald teaches in her writing course are:
Hook
Sense of place
Interesting characters
Compelling dialogue (she’s English)
Strong storyline (one with a logical pattern)
Appropriate pacing
Distinctive voice
Particular point of view
Slowly revealed secret or answer (the presentation of information)
Ms. MacDonald refers to these as the “Furnishings.” She’s speaking of the traditional novel or [...]
John Truby’s screenwriting courses and software are a staple of screenwriting classes worldwide. His book,The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller, presents his “Twenty-Two Building Blocks” plot structure is a classic. I purchased one of his first video writing courses mumblety-mumblety years ago when I was writing comedy and spent a [...]
I’ve seen dozens of variations on these (and I’ll be posting at least 3) through the years as I read writing books and went to classes and workshops to avoid facing the muddle that was my middle, but somehow Janice MacDonald’s version clicked. I then joined NaNoWriMo in 2007 followed by a friend asking me [...]
