I took up a swimming challenge at our local YMCA in January, and I’ve had plenty of time while plowing through the H2O to contemplate. One of the things that came to me recently – and which I did not anticipate – was what swimming (or any solitary sport), writing, […]
Balance in Fiction Writing
Balance. A few days ago, Ellen Gable Hrkach posted a great blog on common errors to avoid in writing fiction. One item she mentioned got me to thinking, namely too much dialogue. What’s ‘too much’? A lot of times that depends on the genre you’re writing. Clearly, screenplays and graphic […]
My Peace I Give You: Healing Sexual Wounds with the Help of the Saints
“Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.” ~Apocalypse 13:10 My Peace I Give You by Dawn Eden is a much-needed spiritual resource for those recovering from any type of physical or emotional suffering brought on by the lust, crassness or cruelty of others. It took a long […]
Creaky Bones? Fitness for Writers
My granddaughter, who is three, thinks that I am really (stretch that word out for maximum effect) old. We have a standing joke: Gramma has ‘creaky bones’. We even have a song and a dance to go with it, and it’s great fun. Of course, I’m not that old, nor […]
Query Letters – How to write a good one
You’ve just typed The End on your manuscript, your gloriously awesome book that’s going to rocket to the top of the New York Times best seller list! Editors are going to line up at your door, fighting to be the one privileged enough to publish your work. Thousands of people […]
Gotcha! Hooks: What They Are and How to Create Page-Turning Fiction
What’s a hook??? I admit to scratching my head over that term, and for a much-too-long time. I would hear it when people were discussing top-selling novels; I’d see it in articles about the craft of writing. It was a frequent comment from my critique partners. “Not much of hook […]
Tag! You’re It! Writing Dialogue in Fiction
“Hi, Beth,” waved Justin. “Why, Justin, I haven’t seen you since our high school prom six years ago, the one where our mutual friend, Erik, got suspended for spiking the punch,” gushed Beth. “Ho, ho,” chortled Justin. “Those were the days! He went on to become a successful, if whacky […]
Presence
It’s been years. She’s desperate; her money gone, her health still declining. She has no hope, no relief and wellness seems to be an impossibility. Doubled over, in a crowd that is abuzz on the dusty streets she becomes part of the mayhem and a crazy idea flickers in her […]
Art and Faith, as They Intersect in Writing
We recently observed the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Fortnight of Freedom, and this might be a good time to look at writing as an expression of our journey and expression of faith. Regular readers of this blog are most likely members of Catholic Writers Guild – which means […]
Critique – Tips on how to do it well
Critique – a word that often scatters writers like a firecracker tossed into a flock of sparrows! But it doesn’t have to be that way. Since critique groups are forming in the Catholic Writers Guild forums, this is a good time to talk about critique, namely, how to be a […]