Mark Twain said, “A successful book is not made of what is in it, but what is left out.” Often we have to cut what doesn’t serve the story and it might be our favorite line, paragraph, scene, or chapter.
Quote from Wired for Story About Conflict
Lisa Cron, on page 129 in Wired for Story, talks about obstacles to block the protagonist’s goals . She states “Obstacles mean nothing unless, beneath the surface, the seeds of that conflict are present from the outset, as they begin pushing their tender shoots through the soil in search of the sun.” I thought about […]
Written Across the Genres Author Interview
Emily De Falla’s interview continues from my April 15th post. Her Western flash story, “The New Ranch Hand”, and her essay, “You’re Going to be on Art Linkletter”, are in my anthology, Written Across the Genres. I asked Emily to name a favorite author, why she writes and where, and what she is working on […]
Margaret Atwood Quote
I visited the San Francisco Writers Conference on Twitter @SFWC and liked the retweet they posted from www.advicetowriters.com. It was a Margaret Atwood quote: “You need a certain amount of nerve to be a writer, an almost physical nerve, the kind you need to walk a log across a river.”
Written Across the Genres Author Interview
Emily De Falla has a short story and a memoir essay in Written Across the Genres, my newly published anthology available on Amazon. “The New Ranch Hand” is in the Western category and won second place in my Western Short Story Contest. Her essay is titled “You’re Going to Be on Art Linkletter”. It’s a […]
Wired for Story Quotes
Lisa Cron in Wired for Story has a “Story Secret” on page 103. She says, “Anything conceptual, abstract, or general must be made tangible in the protagonist’s specific struggle.” On the following page, she quotes E.B. White, “Advice to young writers who want to get ahead without any annoying delays: don’t write about Man, write […]
Las Positas College Anthology Acceptance
Las Positas College accepted my short story, “”George W. Did It”, for their 2013 anthology. I submitted a photo too but they will announce artwork and photos later. The photo is of Grace Cathedral’s Ribbon Project.