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Read and then Write
Our upcoming Craft Chat will be on how to add suspense to your novel. Here is an excellent resource, one that is worthy of being bookmarked and referenced every now and again: Suspense Writing and Action Scenes –
(http://www.creative-writing-solutions.com/suspense-writing.html)
The article (be sure to read both pages) guides the author through some thoughtful ways in which to write good physical fight scenes, characters and "the hook."
At the end there are a few writing prompts. Why not give them a whirl?
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 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
More Writing Exercise Gone Wrong
Here are some more "Why Did The Chicken Cross the Street" answers submitted by Playwright Anne Wycoff who notes she’s merely rearranged the true words of these famous people.
Shakespeare:
To cross, or not to cross, that is the question;
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to stay
The smash and squish of outrageous traffic,
Or to take wings against a road of cars,
And by opposing, cross them.
Robert Burns:
The best laid schemes of chickens an’ cars
Often go awry.
Carman Bliss:
Set me the road to cross, in which I can put my wing,
my beak, my claw, of my very self,
and it is a road to cross no longer, it is joy;
It is roadkill. And It is the reason why I cross the road.
Mark Twain:
The miracle, or the power, that elevates the few brave chickens to cross the road, is to be found in their egg laying, flight and stupidity under the promptings of a winged, driven spirit.
That, and the fact that their brains are the size of my pinky finger nail, will ensure their unfortunate demise.
Louisa May Alcott:
As a chicken, I am no longer afraid of roads, for I am learning how to drive a car and join my brothers in quest of becoming Foster Farms chickens.
Henry David Thoreau:
Cowardly chickens suffer the desire to cross, heroic chickens, though some be dead, enjoy the thrill of crossing the road of life.
Toni Morrison:
Birth, life and death: Each took place on the hidden side of the road as an egg, a chick and an unfortunate encounter with a Harley Davidson.
Edgar Allan Poe:
Deep into the dark road peering, long I clucked there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no chicken ever dared dream before.
Pearl S. Buck:
None who have always been on the other side the road, can understand the terrible, facinating power of the hope of crossing the road to those who are on the wrong side of the road.
Mahatma Ghandhi:
The difference between crossing the road and being capable of crossing the road would suffice to solve most of the chicken coups problems.
Erma Bombeck:
What’s wrong with you chickens? Would you stop laying eggs if you realized that you have wings? You don’t have to cross the road. You can fly over it!
Anne Wycoff:
We are always trying to cross the damn road and not appreciate the side of the road we are on.
A Challenge
Are you looking for a challenge, something to spark your writing or redirect it a bit? Check out Six Sentences. Writers are challenged to write a story that’s a mere six sentences long. Grasp control of the semi-colon, use those colons and dashes and you not only might create a masterpiece, but even the longest 6-sentence short story in the universe!
Give it a try and make it a mainstay at SixSentences.BlogSpot.com
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