Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” “What you are comes to you.” “Once you make a decision, the Universe conspires to make it happen.” “Every artist was first an amateur.” “This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it.” “Live […]
Abroad, a novel by Katie Crouch
I read Lisa Marie Basile’s August 7, 2014 interview with Katie Crouch, author of Abroad. Basile said that although the novel is inspired, not based, on the murder of Meredith Kercher in 2007, Crouch “gives her characters autonomy from the real story and the prose is poetic and arresting.” What I discovered when I met […]
Overheard Conversations for Writer Inspiration
One of the assignments in a writing class I took several years ago was to listen to a conversation in a restaurant and use it to inspire a story. I choose a few words I overheard by two women who sat at a table near us one evening in Utah. The story I wrote had […]
What Are You Reading?
Since October is National Reading Group Month, are you in a reading group? I’m not. But if I were, I’d request the group members read The Gravity of Birds, by Tracy Guzeman. Here in the East Bay of San Francisco, the forecast is rain tomorrow, which we need for our drought. It was cloudy and […]
Mysteries at Opera Plaza Event for October National Reading Group Month
Mysteries at Opera Plaza held in San Francisco on October 11th was a huge success. There were 70 attendees at Books, Inc. The three mystery writers, Katie Crouch author of Abroad, Alice LaPlante, author of Circle of Wives, and Sophie Littlefield author of The Missing Place discussed their books. Tracy Guzeman, author of The Gravity […]
Writing Body Language with Gestures
When writers describe body language, it’s often done with one simple sentence, such as Viv furrowed her brow. The meaning can be misleading without supportive evidence in how she’s feeling. Is she confused? Is she angry with what was said? Or is she in pain? Gesture clusters reveal more accurate information. For instance in this […]
Quotes About Reader Emotions in Writing
Jerry Cleaver in his book, Immediate Fiction, said, “It’s not just about giving the reader an experience. It’s about having it yourself, as you create. Character, reader, author—they’re all having the experience, the emotion. Without emotion, nobody’s having anything.” Cleaver also said, “The first thing to realize is that the world is emotionally determined. Passion, […]