Many thanks to Ira Glass for unwittingly pinch-hitting on the blog while I’m otherwise occupied. In the fourth and last installment of his thoughts on storytelling, he discusses two common pitfalls storytellers fall into; not using their own unique voice, and being too self-centric. Let’s listen in…

Ira’s on a roll. Let’s tune in and see what he has to say about taste and its effect on storytelling. Of all his videos, this is the one that spoke loudest to me. So that’s why I’m so frustrated with my writing sometimes…

I couldn’t say anything on storytelling that Ira doesn’t cover in this series, so I’ll spare you the commentary. On with part 2…

Although you wouldn’t know it from my recent silence, I’m actually feeling reinvigorated about writing. Last week’s vacation helped me sort some things out in the way that only changing venues can do. While I’m processing what I’ve learned and putting it into blog form, here’s the first of a wonderful set of videos that […]

I broke one of my own writing rules this morning, which is never copy and paste from an older manuscript. I was trying to get at the heart of a pivotal scene in the current draft of Last Thursday, my current novel-in-progress, and some of the words I was tapping seemed mighty familiar. On rereading […]

I get some of my best ideas from my twice-monthly critique group meetings. Last night, I was commenting on the manuscript presented by one of our members and noted that the main character remained unnamed for the first 45 pages. The author responded, “why do you need to know that?” It’s a damn good question, […]

How’s that title for blatant hyperbole? It raises a question worth discussing, however; exactly what role does description play in fiction? This morning, I read a post on Writer Unboxed that discusses descriptive passages and their use in genre fiction. As I read, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Before I […]

I love a neatly-pressed, crisp shirt about as much as anything. For years, I’ve found myself lapsing into a fantasy that there’s a machine into which I can insert one of my old wrinkled shirts, press a button, and in a cloud of steam it would open to reveal those razor-line sleeves and a perfectly […]

Let me preface this by saying that I’m a pragmatist when it comes to the creative process. Often, I hear friends talk about characters who want to do this, or refuse to do that, as if those fictional beings held the reins. I might give a knowing smile or nod, but down deep I’m thinking […]

I’ve been struggling with focus for a week. Maybe ten days. Okay, my whole life. While becoming a writer has been liberating in many ways, it has also highlighted how much trouble I have sticking to one task for any length of time. Each morning, I arise religiously at 5:30 and put on a pot […]