I stumbled across an online conversation about authors creating racist, sexist, or homophobic (etc.) characters, and readers feeling the characters’ views reflect the authors’ views. The argument was that authors should be able to write characters with negative character traits…
Blog Archives
Writing Routines
I found a great article on various authors’ writing habits. Whether you’re talking music, silence, time of day, coffee, reading, ritual, or warming up, there’s something there for everyone. Take a look and see if you can find something that…
Posted in Writing
Review: “Breakthrough the Block,” Allen C. Paul
Pros: Decent ideas Cons: More like a blog post than a book Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Breakthrough the Block!: 5 Steps to Renewing your Inspiration, by Allen C. Paul, is more like a long blog post than a book.…
Resource: John Grisham’s Rules of Writing
Since I’m still not writing reviews at the moment (still unpacking, still divorcing, still having trouble staying awake), I can at least share a good link I came across this morning: John Grisham’s Rules of Writing. As always with writing…
Posted in Writing
Turning off the lights
I never expected to be saying these words, but after 15 years of marriage (plus five for dating), I’m getting a divorce. I don’t expect to come back here, but I’ll leave it up for now in case it’s useful…
Review: “Writing Deep Scenes,” Alderson and Rosenfeld
Pros: Wonderful tips Cons: A couple of… miscalculations Rating: 4 out of 5 I have mildly mixed feelings about Writing Deep Scenes: Plotting Your Story Through Action, Emotion, and Theme (by Martha Alderson and Jordan Rosenfeld). It feels very mechanical…
Review: “How Not to Write a Novel,” Mittelmark and Newman
Pros: Useful AND funny as hell! Cons: A little inconsistency Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Howard Mittelmark and Sandra Newman give us a handy guide: How Not to Write a Novel: 200 Classic Mistakes and How to Avoid Them–A Misstep-by-Misstep…
Review: “Break the Block,” Leslie Watts and Alyssa Archer
Pros: Primarily process prompts; interesting photos Cons: There are so many prompt books out Rating: 4 out of 5 Review ebook provided free by publisher. Okay, admission time: No matter how many writing prompt books I read (and I’ve…
Posted in Reviews, Writing Tagged with: Alyssa Archer, Leslie Watts, writer's block, writing, writing prompts
My rant about why many series books should be able to stand alone
I’m working on a review of a book that is quite a ways on in a series—a series that I’ve never read from before. I already know from experience that some of the people who read my review will be…
"This Is Not A Book," Keri Smith
Pros: Very freeing; highly unusual; childlike and playful Cons: Needs a few more blank pages to keep exercises from interfering with each other Rating: 4 out of 5 Review book courtesy of Penguin Group. Keri Smith’s Wreck This Journal…