Writing about writing and reading
I've been listening to my first Raymond Chandler novel, The Big Sleep, and it's a lot better written and a lot less sexist than I'd expected. What has stood out to me so far is how good he is at quickly putting a clear picture of a new character in your head. All of the …
Remember when I was excited about writing quicker? 20k words, hooray, I thought. Well, that was nearly two months ago... and I've only written 5k words since then. What is happening?? I think one important thing is knowing what your goal is. I ran out of things I was sure about, and had to manufacture …
Look at that tree. It's a pretty normal tree, right? I tried to pick a very neutral picture of a tree--one that could be anywhere, with anything going on around it outside the frame. Anything could be happening to the person observing it. How would you choose to describe this tree? That choice should …
The obsession with transition negates a basic truth about writing, a magical truth. You can get anywhere from anywhere, always and almost instantly. - Verlyn Klinkenborg We've all been there: cold moon, dark sky, watching our minds disappear as we try to figure out how to get our character from point A to B. She's …
Jonas David 