In the summer retreat I’m teaching, this week, we’ve been focusing on conflict and emotion. I told everyone that while we think we read books for entertainment, that’s only half the reason. The other being emotion. A great story makes you feel an emotion, whether it be joy, anger, fear etc. One easy way to…
Can not liking one of your characters be stalling your story? I’d never really thought about that question until one of my students e-mailed me and said she felt it was the reason that her writing output was down. There’s no easy or right, yes or no, response. While I do think you…
Sometimes you have to give up other things in your life, maybe a hobby that you love, to get that book written. I look at it as hard work that pays off big time when you reach your goal.
Thanks for all the feedback about the strange object prompt from last week…seems you loved the idea. Here’s the second one and I hope it also ignites your creativity. Have fun and happy writing.
A new month and the start of a new set of prompts. I thought we’d use November to put some photo prompts to good use. Another idea was to use the prompts to practice various writing skills and this week it’s dialogue. Here’s the photo. Start with some dialogue. What are these two people saying…
Another week, another prompt based on a saying and yes, a cute photo this week too… Let sleeping dogs lie Does your character take note of this saying, if not, what are the consequences for him or her? Are they the one dishing out this advice and what does it pertain to? For those…
Another hot humid day…you’ve probably guessed that neither freezing cold temperatures or humidity are my favorite weather terms. As I always say, look for a silver lining and both mean indoor time writing or reading. And yes, if I’m being honest, watching Netflix too. This week the short story class kicked off and I’ve…
I might have told this story before here at TWL, but just in case I didn’t, or you’re new to the site, here goes. I’d been writing for about three or four years and sent a manuscript for a romance story to a new publishing company who had a somewhat famous editor at the…
I said we’d try something a little different for June, July, and August. You can see use the prompts for stories, or if you prefer, something to journal about. Over the years, I’ve kept a story journal off and on. When I’ve journaled every day, even if it’s the skeleton of something that could…
It’s April, so I thought we’d try something different. A prompt that will carry through this entire month. Each week you’ll get a photo of a different character as your prompt. Think of it as a piece of a puzzle. All four characters will be part of the same story each playing a part in…
