Tag Archives: writing process
Learning From Other Authors
I’ve spent the past few days reading Nancy Pickard’s novel, The Scent of Rain and Lightning. Not only did I enjoy it thoroughly—it’s a page turner—I also learned from it. Pickard set the novel in the ranch lands of western … Continue reading
Giving Up Self
As I mentioned last week, I attended a workshop called “Writing Masterful Scenes” at the Writers’ Institute in Wisconsin. The presentation began with advice to immerse the reader in the story and make him/her feel something. Presenters Garvin and Storm … Continue reading
Conference Report
From my diary: Shoes hurt my feet! Was that why I was so exhausted from the flights from Indianapolis to Madison? (I will remember my distress and use it for a character in my current novel.) A soft-voiced cabby, using … Continue reading
My Creative Process: Seeing Metaphors
I’m postponing writing about my experiences at the Writers’ Institute at the University of Madison, Wisconsin for another week. For now, I’d like to address metaphor. Jesus’ parables are extended metaphors—”an earthly story with a heavenly meaning” (Don Stewart, Blueletter … Continue reading
My Creative Process: Naming Characters
The Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins found inspiration in the katniss plant when she named her protagonist, Katniss Everdeen. Washington Irving probably named Ichabod Crane after a U.S. Army colonel he met. (Ichabod means without glory, and the biblical Ichabod … Continue reading