Okay, not teeth, actually, but words. This was THE slowest writing day EVER. Usually I hit a spot where the words just flow while time seems to slow. Next think I know, I hit 1K+ words in more than an hour. Not today. Letter by letter, word by word, I eeked out a couple of crappy scenes. See, it’s okay to stink up the page on the first draft. It’s key to get the story down. Pantser or plotter, you have to eventually type words. I’m confused about folk who can write a great scene the first time. I must have missed that “talent” line in heaven when they called it out. I have to write, then rewrite and rewrite one more time. If I’m lucky, one more time before […]
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Write Who You Are
Years ago my dad told me, “Write What You Know.” He was right. For that season. I was up against a school deadline and had no idea what to write. His advice prompted me to write about something familiar. So I told a hilarious and come to find out, poignant tale, of driving to school over south Florida dirt roads in the back of my brother’s ’69 Barracuda. But years later, writing what I knew came up short. Yes, I can research and write about any topic! But writing what you know cannot fuel a writer for very long. Then I read a line for Sol Stein’s book that basically said, “Write something only you can say.” Huh? How? What kind of story would that be? Anyone can say what I […]
Read the RestOne of the Greatest Pieces of Literature Ever!
The Declaration of Independence! Why does this document work? 247 years later? Because it was written with passion. Writing meaningful works requires passion. A level of belief in what you write. Even if I argue the “devil’s advocate” side of an issue in a story, I do it with what I believe is the conviction of the characters. Thomas Jefferson penned a document we should all study. And believe in! Without further ado… Happy Independence Day! When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to […]
Read the RestFairytale Code: Happily Ever After
At long last, I’m on the other wide of a rewrite deadline and I can conclude our fairytale code series. The ending is simple. Happy. A fairytale like story, a romance, a sisterhood, even a thriller has to end with some level of happiness and satisfaction. What do we really learn from fairytale endings? The boy gets the girl. The dragon is slayed. The castle is stormed. Evil is defeated. Good wins. Even in the most thrill driven stories, these elements must take place for a solid story ending and wrap up. Cinderella is the classic happy ending. In the Disney version, Cindy and Prince marry because “the shoe fit” and boy, let’s not go down that symbolic rabbit trail, but her dreams came true because she believed. In Snow […]
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