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Place as Character

I grew up on a midwestern farm located between the Wabash and Illinois rivers. An anonymous writer described that vast prairie as follows: “…the gentle wind moved the supple grasses like waves of a green sea under the summer’s sky.” Some are born into the world with a determination to flee their homes; others absorb…

The Claude Glass

I’m writing a short story about an old lady who uses a Claude Glass to view the aftermath of a tragedy. What is a Claude Glass? While watching Grand Tours of Scotland on Prime Video, I learned of the Claude Glass, or mirror, since in English, the word “glass” can be replaced with “mirror.” The…

My Muse

I’ve been walking around the house, looking for my muse. When I go on walks, I search for her in the clouds, in groves of trees and fields of dandelions. The state of the world and the nation are distractions, to be sure, and I’ve been doing left-brain things like editing manuscripts, working with a…

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Keeping Characters Straight

I’m reading Elizabeth George’s “Just One Evil Act” (719 pages). Readers have many characters to keep track of and though I’m reading it in snatches, I’m having no trouble remembering who they are because the author describes them so uniquely. Fans are familiar with Inspector Lynley, a member of Britain’s upper-class. His sidekick, Barbara Havers…

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Why Mystery?

Mystery is the spice of genres, adding dimension to the unknown. It startles, makes you wonder. Why is Daphne DuMaurier’s Rebecca so compelling? What secret is Maxim keeping? Why doesn’t the heroine have a name? The housekeeper’s meanness adds zip to this tale. Mystery is the ultimate puzzle, the interlocking of clues. Think of Sherlock…