I’ve used the words “What” and “Why” to unpack different terms from the MBT glossary like “Story Question” and “Dark Moment” and “Black Moment.” Today I’m using “What” and “Why” to tackle the term “writers conference.” As a writer, you’ve either attended a conference or you want to so badly you’re saving up by digging loose change from between your couch cushions – as well as your closest friends’ couches. What are friends for, if not to donate spare change to a good cause? So what is a writers conference? What: A conference involves tossing a bunch of clothes into a suitcase the night before a way-too-early morning flight to attend workshops where we learn about craft, while deep-breathing through 15-minute editor and agent appointments, and finally meeting people we’ve […]
Read the RestArchive | August, 2012
Conversations: How to write Emotions part 2
Yesterday, I told you the story of Darla, and how she showed us 2 of the four layers of emotions. Today, let’s talk about the final two layers. Just as a review: The first layer of writing emotions is simply that surface emotion – the name of the emotion. The sectond layer is called: Just Under the Skin Layer. This layer names the emotion and pairs it with a physical response. But let’s go deeper: Sweat dribbled down her brow. She gripped the seats with whitened hands. She practiced early labor breathing. Even if I hadn’t heard her on the phone, seeing her actions, I would have gotten it. I don’t need to know the emotion to know she afraid. The next layer is simply the physical response only. […]
Read the RestConversations: How to show emotions part 1
I am sitting in a different coffee shop this morning¸ in Oregon, missing Sally, but happy to be with my co-writer, Rachel Hauck as we teach at the Oregon Christian Writer’s Conference this week. My flight over reminded me of meeting that occurred a few years ago. I was sitting in the O’Hare Airport when a woman walked into the gate area. She was in her early twenties, and carried a backpack, which she held with a whitened fist. She sat down and began to fidget in her seat, checking her watch, looking at the gate, pawing through her bag. She pulled out a book, and clutched it to her chest a moment before opening it, and pulling out a highlighter. The books said, in large black ominous letters – […]
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Endless Summer, Part Two: Take Out the Trash
The picnic was great. Lots of fun, food and family hit the spot. But now you have to do some cleaning. Don’t you just love a clean house with everything in its place? Peace settles over you as you inhale the freshness of a fresh home. Just as it took time to scrub the tub and take out the trash, your success as a writer requires the same attention. Just like you really don’t need to hang onto the phone bill from 1972, you really could clean out some things in your own emotions. Things you didn’t remember were there until you begin cleaning house. Here are just a few. When you find them, toss them! Past rejections. Perhaps there was a time you could and should have worn those […]
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