Archive for the ‘writing exercises’ Category
You know that bump on the upper inside corner of your middle finger, the one you got as a kid from all the cursive handwriting in school? Do you still have it? Did you ever? Experts now say that the ‘writer’s bump’ or callus is almost completely disappearing, what with the rise of computers and the fact that students no longer seriously learn the Palmer method of cursive handwriting in school. Which got me to thinking–has the rise in using computers to type affected the quality and/or output of creative writing? In what way has it changed what we write and are there benefits to switching back to longhand? CONTINUE READING…..
In Greek mythology, the muses were the nine daughters of the god Zeus and Mnemosyne, goddess of memory. They were thought to inspire the creation of literature and the arts and transmit the knowledge of poetry, history, dance, astronomy, music, and comedy. Their legacy is threaded through modern language with words such as ‘museum’, ‘musing’ and ‘amused’. It is, however, most apparent in the seriousness that artists and writers give to finding ‘their muse’. What does this mean and how can finding your muse improve your writing?
February 24, 2010 posted in..... writing exercises
Dialogue is one of the most important tools in your author’s skill box. Done well it will bring your characters to life and anchor your prose. It will subtly tell your story gracefully. Unfortunately, dialogue is one of the hardest aspects of fiction to pull off well. Maybe it’s because we think it should be easy–I mean we have conversations every single day, putting them down on paper seems second nature. Or maybe it’s just that we’re uncomfortable with dialogue because we’re not sure what its purpose is in our story–we know we should have dialogue, that it’s useful, but aren’t quite sure why. So we stick it in and hope it works.
Whatever the reason, you shouldn’t sweat it because with some practice dialogue will become your best friend. Here’s how
February 17, 2010 posted in..... writing exercises
Every Wednesday, I’m going to introduce a writing exercise that will help spur on your imagination. Whether you are a fiction writer in serious need of inspiration, or just someone who likes to dabble in creativity, these exercises are bound to be fun and educational. Today, I want to focus on the most important component of all well written fiction: Character.
