“Okay, here it is.” Sally plunked down a thick sheaf of paper, bound by a rubber band. “72,834 words.” “I’m impressed.” I handed her a victory candy cane mocha. “I’m exhausted. My brain is a noodle. I wrote late at night, early in the morning, while boiling macaroni and cheese. I’ve thought about this novel in my sleep, while doing laundry, driving my kids to school. All I do is think about this book.” “But, do you like it?” She smiled. “I do. But it needs so much work, and I’m not sure where to start. I have a jumbled mess. I have misspelled words and run on sentences and grammatically incorrect paragraphs…ugly.” “No worries. Today, I’m going to tell you what to do with that mess! “First, Let your […]
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Finding the Truth of Your Character
Watching an interview with Brad Pitt on Inside The Actor’s Studio, an acting student asked, “What are your processes and how have they changed?” Pitt wisely answered, “My processes is always changing.” He talked about the journey of discovery, of finding truth. As an actor, or in our case, writer, grows and changes, they should be able to hone the process of finding a the heart of a character, of discovering the truth. Pitt went on to say, “Find a moment of truth and the character will come.” This is a profound truth for all of us who deal in character. Find the truth of your character and let it breathe, let it come. Let it shine on the page. We talk a lot about processes and tools here at […]
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A Writer’s Christmas Wish List
‘Tis the season when the blog-o-sphere is cluttered with writers’ wish lists. Google “gifts for writers” and you’ll discover things like: A book clock A bathrobe – because we all know writers don’t wear real clothes while writing Moleskin notebooks (I love these things—not that I need another notebook.) Jewelry for writers The MBT Novelist Starter Pack (Didn’t think I’d forget that, did you?) It’s all well and good to drop “all I want for Christmas” hints during this time of the year. How else will people know that you long for a ceramic tray that looks like a notepad? And I have a few hints about gifts to give yourself this season that will help you be a better writer in 2013. Give yourself the gift of less. December […]
Read the RestConversations: What to do with your WriMo Chapters/How to edit a scene
I found Sally in line for coffee as I entered the coffee shop. She had already dumped her bag onto a chair, had already tugged off her gloves, her wool jacket, and wore her game face. “What’s up? Did you not have a great thanksgiving?” “It was fine. But, I’m 3000 words away from finishing my novel.” “That’s great.” I shed my jacket and motioned to Kathy. She gave me a smile, already on my order. “No so much.” She retrieved her coffee and handed me mine. I nodded my appreciation. “Why?” “Because I only have 46000 words and I’m near the end of my novel.” “And?” “It’ supposed to be an 80,000 word novel! How am I going to come up with 30,000 more words?” “Oh, I see. You […]
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