Here you’ll find some of the craft and writing tips that have been shared over my years of editing and teaching writing.
Smut and Alice Munro
That story I mentioned in my last post, "Challenges (yoga, writing, sex)," the one that is about a sexual encounter, is still a work in progress. For now I am calling it "Gwen's Window." I asked my boyfriend to read it--he reads almost everything--and he suggested a...
Challenges (yoga, writing, sex)
I have been thinking about challenges lately. Different varieties of challenges, but challenges each in their way. When life gets challenging, complicated and messy, the first thing to lapse is whatever I do for myself. When we are only responsible to ourselves for a...
In Memoriam
Turtle, my beloved kitty has moved on today. She loved to park her rump on my papers, sit in front of my computer, walk across my keyboard, and she always took precedence on my lap over any reading materials. After a hard day of writing we would both get tuckered out...
Published Story
Melusine, or Woman in the 21st Century, has just launched its Spring/Summer 2011 issue. They published my story, "Lover." Check it out and some other great works, too!
Separation Anxiety
I was talking with fellow writer and friend, Nico Taranovsky, about separation between the writer and the character. Sometimes there isn’t a lot of it. The closer we are to our character, the harder it becomes to write that character. It is like self-marketing. A lot...
The Writer’s Rightful Fear
Nothing to fear but fear itself? Not so, if you are a writer who hopes to publish!
The Tragedy Trap
A teacher (I don't remember where I heard this, unfortunately) once defined fiction as "bad things happening to interesting people." Nothing could be truer. There is, however, a caveat to note, one of scale: the bad thing must be proportionate to the ordinary lives of...
Split
Why write a particular story? What compels an author to pursue a certain tale over every other possibility? I am not certain I could satisfactorily answer that question for most of my stories. I would probably say things like this is what interested me at the time. Or...
For Your Amusement
To Sleep or To Write: Funny how the hand keeps moving after the eyes have closed.
An Incredible Reasonableness
Richard Bausch was the visiting author at Hamline last week. During his interview*, he talked about trouble. We writers have to bring trouble upon our characters and right away. I'll paraphrase: Bausch said that so called "entertainment" fiction is about trouble that...
I'm Alida
I help people express their gifts to the world.
I do not believe in formulas. I believe that the stories we are compelled to tell the world make demands on us, and it is our privilege to meet those demands in order to reach the most people in the most authentic and compelling way possible.
