I was reading from Little Pieces of Hope by Todd Doughty (wonderful little book, by the way) about Templeton in Charlotte’s Web and the role that a grouchy character plays in stories. Turns out, they do a lot. Grouchy characters are not necessarily the antagonists. Just look at Templeton, the grouchy rat. Quite often he…
I’m not going to say that I write beautifully, but I know that in some of my projects, my sentences have been prettier than my stories. I have painstakingly written “lovely” sentences that lead through a plot and, 45,000 words later, there’s a book. My sentences rocked. My story? Not so much. The idea was…
Planning is easy. Scribble a note on your To-Do list. There. A plan. You feel good about yourself. You’re going to tackle your goal. Then you carry on with the rest of your day or week or month. Your mantra becomes, “I’m going to do it. It’s on my To-Do list. I’m going to!” But…
A story idea can tumble easily from your head to paper, or it can take a couple (or more) earth-rotations around the sun. It takes time to commit your thoughts to story form, but you know what else it takes? Courage. If you’re brand new to writing, you have no idea of the courage you’re…
Writing a story is like dropping breadcrumbs for the reader, and, in that way, every story is a mystery. The author leads the reader through the breadcrumbs. A well-written story with breadcrumbs properly laid leaves the reader feeling satisfied in their soul that events turned out as they should for the characters. Unfortunately, sometimes the…
Have you heard of Zentangle? It’s a meditative art form of repeated lines and circles (tangles) which results in some beautiful pieces. My friend, who is a Certified Zentangle Teacher, told me one of Zentangle’s philosophies is “The Elegance of Limits.” Many completed Zentangle pieces are no larger than 3×3-inches or 4×4. The elegance of…
Yes, we’re already doing so many things, it can feel like an impossible task to add on one more thing, even if it’s “Enjoy the fall season!” But we can do both. I love fall—it’s still warm, but there’s a change in the air. It feels like a new beginning…even though it’s technically an ending…
Today’s inspiration is thanks to Seth Godin, marketing guru. His posts are full of thought-provoking info…plus they’re super short. Recently, he wrote about knowing your audience. Why are you in business? Who are you making/creating your products for? Good questions, Seth. So, I ask you (because everyone has an idea that they’re trying to drum…
The Mystery of A Nubbins is a new 339-page self-published middle-grade novel for kids ages 8-12 that mixes mystery, fairy tale, folklore and old-fashioned wholesome adventure, written and illustrated by W.S. Wiist. It’s the story of two brothers in the early 1980s who run into a mysterious boy while they’re trying to build forts. While…
That question makes for the best stories—in fiction and in life. In either genre (yes, let’s call life a genre, and feel free to substitute “You” for “character”), a character finds themself in the middle of a big mess. It could be a mess they created or one they insinuated themself into under the auspices…
