I started reading a great book last week and about a third of the way through a thought hit me: What if THE HEROINE was THE HERO and THE HERO was THE HEROINE? Meaning, what if their rolls were reversed? Suddenly the book became much more interesting and the one on my Kindle seem kind of status quo. Sure, some of the other plot points would be different if SHE was a HE, but it would also raise new, more intriguing plot obstacles. In an historical book, it might be hard to switch rolls. If you were writing about the Alamo, it would be hard to have a man spying on General Santa Anna since the spy was a female prostitute. But, what if you took an historical event, like […]
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Food Fight! 8 ways to keep healthy while you write
Boy, doesn’t that title just make you sit up and take notice. I woke up thinking about this today. Food. Writing. Diet Coke. Writing. Chips. Writing. Diet Coke. Writing. Tea. Writing. Water. Water. Water. To undo the chips and Diet Coke, of course. Writing. After returning from the fantastic Deep Thinkers retreat, I’d resolved to cut back on this, do a little more of that… But a week later, I can feel myself, see myself, slipping into old habits. Some of it is just determination. Any kind of discipline requires inspiration followed by a boat load of determination. But to keep going, we need motivation. Motivation comes from little successes. Big successes. Encouragement. More inspiration. A notch up on the determination. But it also requires resolve in our emotions. To just do it! And […]
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The Power of Voice
At the recent Academy of Country Music awards, Carrie Underwood sang a “Walk This Way” duet with Aerosmith’s Steve Tyler. What a contrast, you know? Young, blonde, beautiful, seemingly innocent Carrie Underwood jamming with long time, hard core rocker from the ‘70s, known for his drug abuse, partying and sexual exploits. They sang Aerosmith’s most famous song, “Walk This Way?” Pardon me while I post the lyrics. backstroke lover always hidin’ ‘neath the covers till I talked to your daddy, he say he said “you ain’t seen nothin’ till you’re down on a muffin then you’re sure to be a-changin’ your ways” I met a cheerleader, was a real young bleeder oh, the times I could reminisce ’cause the best things of lovin’ with her sister and her cousin only […]
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What Comes Before Editing: Planning the Work & Working the Plan
With the nickname of The Evil Editor (TEE) – said with affection, remember! –I bet you think I’m all about editing. Not true. I’m also a writer. Which means I’m also about writing. But even before the writing, which comes before the editing, I’m about planning. I can see all you seat-of-the-pantsers (SOTPs) out there in the blog-o-sphere rolling your eyes. Thinking: Not another writer who chains herself to scripting out every last word of her novel, detail by infinitesimal detail. You think there’s nothing better than letting your story run away with you, surprising you with unexpected twists and turns as a character kisses someone unexpected – or maybe kills them. But even a SOTP has to plot something. Beginning, middle, end. The Disappointments (Ds). Maybe resist putting hands to keyboard and […]
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