My anthology has a new name and I’ve changed the focus. The old name was A CLASS OF MUSES. Now it’s SECRETS, SURPRISES, AND SMILES. I’m calling it a Sampler or a Collection of Genres instead of an anthology. Progress is slow but with the help of my friend, Linda Todd, it’s coming together. We […]
Characters Demand Attention
Haikuandydotcom sends a daily Haiku if you sign up for it. Today’s makes a good writing prompt. chinese restaurant the future manager refills our water Makes me wonder about the future manager. Does he/she know about the future promotion? How long will it take? What is the character like, kind or ruthless? Is there an […]
Anadiplosis and When to Use It
Anadiplosis is a rhetorical device that repeats the last word of one phrase, clause, or sentence at, or very near, the beginning of the next sentence. The main point of the sentence becomes clear by repeating the same word twice in succession. An example from HADA’S FOG: “Hada’s immediate reaction to Lilli’s announcement wasn’t […]
How to Make the Character’s Present Mysterious
Karl Iglesias in his book, WRITING EMOTIONAL IMPACT, describes how to create reader curiosity in the present. He suggests showing the character’s unusual behavior and reactions, such as overreacting or avoiding a subject. The aim is to have the reader wonder why and to wonder what he/she is hiding. Another idea is to have other […]
National Novel Writing Month
My NaNoWriMo project this year is not a novel. It’s an anthology called A Class of Muses, and my ID on nanowrimo.org is JMK. I’ve written first drafts of four novels during past Novembers. My third novel, Hada’s Fog, is in its sixth and final draft. Monday and Tuesday writing class members have submitted stories, […]
Give Feelings a Chance to Act
I read somewhere to give life to abstractions by substituting concrete images that suggest the feeling. I’ve decided to put that advice into practice with every other chapter. The newest one I wrote in revising Chapter One again is about Hada. Instead of saying she felt guilty, I wrote: Guilt pinched at her heart […]