Ursula K. Le Guin’s birthday was on October 21st. She’s eighty-five years old. She writes mainly in the fantasy and science fiction genres. Her book titled The Wave in the Mind: Talks and Essays on the Writer, the Reader, and the Imagination has her 1992 essay “Dogs, Cats, and Dancers: Thoughts about Beauty” in it. […]
Ralph Waldo Emerson Quotes
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 […]
Characters’ Decisions
As writers we have to put our main character in tight spots where decisions have to be made. We make the decision harder when there are no right answers. The character has to weigh what is better between two actions where neither one is guaranteed to turn out right. The deep tension, which is more […]
Asyndeton, a Rhetorical Device
Rhetorical Devices attract and hold attention with words. Asyndeton is one in which conjunctions are omitted deliberately from a series. Julius Caesar eliminated “and” when he said, “I came. I saw. I conquered.” Asyndeton produces a hurried rhythm in a sentence. It creates a concise, dramatic effect. Abraham Lincoln used asyndeton when he said, “of […]
Writer Interview with Jan Davies
Jan Davies has a short story, “Saving Sheena”, and a memoir essay, “A February Christmas” in my anthology, Written Across the Genres (available on Amazon). Jan is an independent business lady, President of the WiMe Group, Inc., who has always loved to write; poetry, journals, short and long stories and memoir. Her passions are family, […]
Story Prompt for Writers
October is a perfect month for paranormal stories. Here’s a prompt, but if you don’t care to write what I call a “creepy” one, I collected a few images that could inspire any kind of story. I know a few humor writers who might come up with a laughable yarn. Let me know if you […]