Recently my critique group decided we would benefit from reading books on writing. Our first selection was Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird, subtitled Some Instructions on Writing and Life. The book gets its name from an anecdote about her then ten-year-old brother. He was overwhelmed by a report on birds he had put off. It was due the next day, and he was in tears. Their father counseled him to prepare the report bird by bird, instead of worrying about the entire report. Books on Writing I’m a pragmatist. When I read books on writing, I want step-by-step guides that will improve my writing. I want writing exercises; I…
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Empathy in Writing
What does empathy in writing look like? The readers see and hear what the character does, as a result readers also feel what the character feels. How do you as a writer achieve this? You have to know your character’s wants, needs, fears, and motivations inside and out. Empathy is the act of feeling what others feel. Empathy and Desire Every well-written character wants something. Your job is to convey that to your readers in a visceral way. Make your readers ache along with your character. As obstacles thwart your character’s desires, readers will slip into the character’s skin and experience pain and loss, love and longing as if they…
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Idioms
What do I’m all ears, step on it, and cool as a cucumber have in common? They are all idioms. What is an Idiom? Idioms are expressions whose meaning comes from a concept, not the actual words. Often, they make no sense at all. For instance, the idiom “I’m all ears” means you have my full attention, not that I have grown extra ears all over my body! An idiom is an expression understood by native speakers that can seem complete nonsense to nonnative speakers. Let me give you an example. If you and I are on our way to the store and I want you to hurry, I may…
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Celebrate Poetry Month
Writers celebrate poetry month every April. In poetry, ordinary things become extraordinary because the reader feels a connection to the words on the page. We’re all searching for connection amid forced stay at home orders and pandemic quarantines. Thank goodness for FaceTime, Zoom, and all those other platforms that allow us to keep in touch with loved ones and others in our community. Writing Poetry Soothes the Soul Writing poetry gives us time to reflect, to take stock. To examine our emotions. Whether you’re shooting for humor or poignancy, consider free verse, sonnet, and rhyme to get you there. Here is an exercise to close out poetry month. Listen, really…
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Motion, Emotion, Motivation
Motion, emotion, and motivation will keep your story moving. It’s no coincidence these three words share the Latin root for move. Whether you’re writing fiction, biography, or an informational article, be sure to include each of these. Let’s look at how each one enriches your story. Motion Plot is the motion in your story. It moves the story forward and compels your reader to keep turning the pages. What will happen next? Plot is the logical progression of events. It’s a series of cause and effect that leads the reader to an endpoint. The motion must be focused and directed toward the end goal to avoid aimless wandering, and risk…
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Things That Fall From the Sky
Precipitation has a specialized vocabulary all its own. Generally speaking, precipitation includes rain, snow, and hail. But each of these has a range of words to describe them. Rain Rain falls from the sky as drops of water. It comes down hard, soft, heavy, and light. Rain has its own specialized vocabulary. It can mist, sprinkle, drizzle, or rain. A light rain is a shower. Heavier rainstorms come in downpours, cloudbursts and torrents. Rain paired with thunder is a thundershower, and is often accompanied by lightning. A rainfall with copious amounts of water is called a deluge and may lead to flash floods. In northern latitudes you may experience freezing…
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Vocabulary, Building Blocks for Writers
Vocabulary is a fancy term for the words you use. Since words are the writer’s building blocks it makes sense to build a large vocabulary. So how do you do it? Building Vocabulary Vocabulary can be specific to a profession, art form, or region. For instance, to a student, the word site will probably refer to a website, but to a biologist or archaeologist it will refer to a location. Medium to an artist is the material they use to make their art, but it can also be a psychic leading a seance, a size, or the way information is transmitted. And then of course, different regions have their own…
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Bring Intellectual Curiosity to Your Writing
I enjoyed the holidays with family. I hope your holidays were full of happy times with people you love. Here’s something to think about as you write in this new year. Intellectual curiosity withers in either or, black or white, up or down, left or right. It thrives on maybe, what if, but, and so, possibly and even though. Intellectual curiosity allows us to look through another’s lens. It forces us to consider viewpoints other than our own. When the world is presented as either or it puts blinders on the intellect. The world is not black and white. It is filled with a kaleidoscope of color. Media Landscape…
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Fifty Thousand Words
Here it is the final day of NaNoWriMo and I’m a few words short of the fifty thousand word goal. Did you see what I did there? Fifty thousand is two words and 50,000 counts as one! Bumps in the Road I’ve been plugging away on my novel and even earned my 25 day badge for writing twenty five days in a row. (see picture above) But on day twenty seven I ran into a few bumps. There were the five hours spent shoveling after a snowstorm, then a holiday, followed by an unexpected family crisis (they’re always unexpected, aren’t they?), and a car stuck in the snow! Playing Catch…
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Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on the blessings in our lives. In today’s post I want to focus on family, friends, and purpose. Family Family shapes us in so many ways. I am the youngest of three children. Both parents were college educated. Dad grew up an only child and followed his father into the family business after he contracted polio which put an end to his dreams of working outdoors in the forestry industry. Mom married young, had a son and was a widow by the age of 20. She attended college, received her teaching certificate and supported herself and young son on a teacher’s salary until she…
