Archive for January, 2009
I Can’t Read You
LJ Sellers, author of The Sex Club, lists several reasons why she can’t finish a novel. It’s a compelling list even for authors or those aspiring to become one.
Check out LJ’s post and then think about the reasons you might put down a novel or at least rank it in the bottom two out of five stars. Are these reasons your own work might not be well liked by your readers? What can you do to change that in your writing?
Here’s your challenge: Take something you’ve written recently and consider the problem areas you’ve identified in reading other works or LJ’s list. If you find some of these problems, hammer out a working draft that will help solve them.
Writing Prompt – Character’s Physical Description
Entertain some dialogue between two of your characters. As you write the dialogue, only focus on one particular physical description, such as their eyes, their hands, chins, etc. Pick only one. Try to write your physical descriptions to convey emotions, or better yet, have the emotions from one character contrast dramatically with the other character and show that through how you portray their physical description.
Writing Challenge: Author Biography
Not long ago the prize-winning author, Tania Hershman, shared she didn’t mind as much being interviewed. An idea was fielded in her direction, would conducting interviews help write a biography, seeing that most writers don’t care much for this task. She agreed, that would be a great way to get over that hurdle.
Thinking about writing a biography can be daunting. At writing-world.com there are some tips that might help get you warmed up for writing one, then consider getting someone to "interview" you to help you get on your way. Get started by reading the writing-world page here: http://www.writing-world.com/basics/bio.shtml
Writing Prompt: Character’s Physical Description
Introduce the antagonist in a story, allow his physical description and body language to convey his/her sinister or selfish nature. (From: Creative Writing Solutions)
Craft Chat and Critique Workshop
Date: Saturday, January 10, 2009
Time: 3:30 – 7:30 PM (may break at 6:30 pm)
Location: Meeting Room directly across from Circulation Desk
Chico Branch, Butte County Library
1108 Sherman Avenue, Chico (cross is 1st Ave)
RSVP: Leave a comment below with a valid email address (never published) to RSVP.
Agenda
3:30-4:30 PM Craft Chat and Writing Exercise
Physical Description of Characters
When we’re telling a story, we need to tell our readers something about our characters, and that often includes what they look like. How do we do that without making it sound like a police report? What kind of details are important? What’s best left to the reader’s imagination?
4:30 – 6:30 PM Critique Workshop
Manuscripts are distributed January 2nd to members in good standing.
Queue: B. C.
D. H.
R. A.
N. J.
K. L.
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