Lisa Cron in Wired for Story on page 130, uses the analogy of earthquake fissures that lead to the big one in the life of the protagonist. The “first hairline crack and its resulting offshoots are like fault lines, running through the center of the protagonist’s world, undermining everything. As with an earthquake, the cracks […]
More on Misplaced Modifiers
My last post from Violet’s Vibes had examples of misplaced modifiers. Here a few more from Bonnie Trenga’s book, The Curious Case of the Misplaced Modifier, a Writers Digest Book. She explains that since a modifier usually describes the nearest noun, when it ends up next to the wrong word, it becomes misplaced. Here are […]
Say that again
Misplaced modifiers sneak into our writing, but if we catch them, they’re good for laughs. Violet tells us about a mustache weighing 150 pounds, a chair tying its shoes, and a dog packing up for college.
Are You Writing a Memoir?
Violet’s Vibes has useful tips for writers. Her July 10th post was titled, “Memoirs–Facts or Fables?” Check it out at violetsvibes.wordpress.com/2014/07/10memoirs-facts-or-fables/
Pont Neuf Setting and Collaborative Plots in Written Across the Genres
My anthology, Written Across the Genres, has two Dock Stories toward the end of the book. The setting is Paris, the dock is below the Pont Neuf, the oldest of the 37 bridges that cross the Seine River. Both versions are collaborative stories. I wrote the first paragraph and each person in my two writing […]
Back from Europe
On the plane ride to France, I read Cara Black’s Murder in Glichy. Each of her mysteries take place in a different part of Paris. Reading her book and being in two countries for a few days made me want to use European settings for future stories.The Air France Bus I took from the airport […]
Wired for Story by Lisa Cron
In Wired for Story, on page 31, Lisa Cron corrects the myth that the plot is simply what the story is about. She says that the reality is, “A story is about how the plot affects the protagonist.” She continues on page 39 that “the plot’s goal isn’t simply to find out whether he snags […]