The Joy of Exploring Your Writing Territory
The first hand-held calculator was invented “after hours” in Buchenwald concentration camp by Curt Herzstark. Image: Arithmeum, Bonn. I’ve been reading Susan Kaye Quinn‘s Indie Author Survival Guide (Second Edition) Crafting a Self-Publishing Career Book 1). Unfortunately, the book is no longer available, but there’s an interview with Susan Kaye Quinn on The Creative Penn […]
Writing Gratitude Countdown (4): The Gift of Feedback
Who helps you see your work clearly? © Laurel Decher, 2016. This is the fourth post in my Writing Gratitude Countdown. It’s a series about people who’ve helped me on my writing journey so far. I’m taking a moment to say a heartfelt thank you! (Find all the posts: 1. The Gift of Attention , […]
Writing Gratitude Count-down: (1) The Gift of Attention
Pothole in the road full of cherry blossom petals. © Laurel Decher, 2016. I keep realizing how many people have generously encouraged my writing. It’s so easy to send out queries and focus on the–sometimes deafening–silence, but when I look back on my writing journey, I see so many people who have gone out of […]
The question that moves my work forward
What’s the simplest solution? This is the question that moves me forward when I get stuck. I’m not sure why it helps. Maybe it’s what my friend and writing mentor Susan Graham calls “making a decision.” Friends are a gift. With this question, I move forward with the information I’ve already got. Information gathering stops. […]
Writers Working Together Online: 8 Things We Can Do Better Together
12, Rue Cortot, Montmartre, Paris. This house in Montmartre housed a community of Impressionist painters and writers. © Laurel Decher, 2013. Have you noticed all the different kinds of author and publishing groups? Have you noticed all the different kinds of author and publishing groups on the internet? Some of these are no longer active, […]
A Mini-M.F.A. in the Psychology of Character
How do you know what your hero is capable of? A modernistic St. Martin cuts his cloak in half to share with a poor man. Mainz, Germany. Craft books like The Negative Trait Thesaurus and The Positive Trait Thesaurus can help you build strong characters.
The Reverse Backstory Tool Brings Your Characters to Life
This character is walking right off this building into a story. Statue on the front of the Gutenberg Museum in Mainz, Germany. © Laurel Decher, 2016. Reverse Backstory Tool Angela Ackerman’s and Becca Puglisi’s Reverse Backstory Tool in THE NEGATIVE TRAIT THESAURUS is the perfect way to jumpstart a new story or re-animate a faded […]
Stories we tell ourselves
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xY2JSv3t0k Recently, my husband and I watched a movie version of Kurt Vonnegut’s short story “WHO AM I THIS TIME?” with Susan Sarandon and Christopher Walken. Christopher Walken’s character, Harry, is so shy he only talks to women if he’s “in character” in a play. No one really tries to connect with him until Susan […]
If it’s fixed, should you break it? Revision and the magic wardrobe
A writing and interior design metaphor. My life unintentionally provided me with another writing metaphor this weekend. We moved to Germany three years ago and kind relatives gave us two huge cupboards to hold our camping, photography, coats, linens and suitcases. Closets are rare in Germany so wardrobes without magical countries are the norm. The […]
Create something new: Lessons from a re-cycled Convent, a Peacock with a Looking Glass, and a Cow with a Drinking Problem
Roman pipeline to convent to farm. Gut Schillingskapellen, Dünstekoven. © Laurel Decher, 2016. In the small village of Swisstal-Dünstekoven, a one-time convent was built solely with materials scavenged from the Roman water line. Now it’s a farm with Scottish Highland cows and reflective peacocks. Lesson #1: Try a bit of creative re-cycling. If Roman ruins are […]
“It happened so fast”
In the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Michelle Kwan skated an amazing and beautiful program without apparent effort. What touched me most about this performance was what happens at the end. At about 4:58 in this video, while waiting for the judges to put up the scores, Michelle Kwan tells her coach: “It happened so fast.” https://youtu.be/XObfIoPbFf8/ […]
6 ways THIS JOURNAL BELONGS TO RATCHET shows its warm and funny heroine
Get handout Click here to download Six Ways to Reveal Character handout as a pdf with links to Karl Iglesias’ website and to WRITING FOR EMOTIONAL IMPACT. I’ve been studying Karl Iglesias’ insightful and practical WRITING FOR EMOTIONAL IMPACT while reading Nancy J. Cavanaugh‘s funny, charming, and warm THIS JOURNAL BELONGS TO RATCHET for Middle […]