As a writer, people like to give me lots of books on writing, filled with self-help suggestions and theories on craft. Most of the time, I skim, then toss the books behind the first row of books on my shelf, never to be seen again. A while back, a friend gave me Stephen King’s “On — Read More
Category: Writing Technique
What makes “good” dialogue?
My writing friend: This kid in my class said my dialogue isn’t realistic. Me: What’s that supposed to mean? My writing friend: No idea. Me: It shouldn’t be realistic. My writing friend: Huh? Me: If it was realistic, it would be, like, awful to read. My writing friend: Ya… Well… I guess… But– Nevermind. Right, — Read More
Choosing your readers
As previously mentioned, writers are whores for feedback. While much of writing is a solo adventure, we do need dialogue. For some of us, we need that dialogue from the moment we put pen to paper; for me, it’s after I get a good ‘barf draft’ out of my system. Josh Weil, who was selected — Read More
Workshopping
Work•shop•ping -noun The act of looking for a workshop. As much as writers like to think of themselves as solitary creatures, they need interaction. Let’s face it, we are whores for feedback. We need people to tell us that what we’ve put on paper has some value, that we should keep at it, put off — Read More
My f-ing muse
**As published on The Writer’s [Inner] Journey ** In writing, there is much discussion of “the muse.” Who is it? Do we wait for him/her/it to appear, or go to work anyway? Does the fact that we talk to this muse make us schizophrenic? When I think of my muse, I think of a very — Read More
Death of the book writer
** As published on The Writer’s [Inner] Journey ** Here’s a prediction: The human race will evolve so that our chins become attached to our chests, for better viewing of our iPhones. We are a society increasingly obsessed with technology. We browse blogs while waiting for water to boil. We tweet from the toilet. We — Read More