Tag Archives: storytelling

Williamsburg woes, part 2 (details from a decade ago)

It turns out I’m not done with the whole Colonial Williamsburg thing. In fact, I recall staying awake nights fretting about newly discovered details (new for me, anyway) concerning life in the 18th century as I worked on my Revolutionary … Continue reading

Posted in Historical writing, novel writing, travel, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

How much is enough? (A 10-Year-Old Replay for a Reason)

I first posted this about ten years ago. I wrote it while putting the finishing touches on what is quite possibly the best book I’ve ever written. Anyway, there is a very strong possibility that I will be relaunching said … Continue reading

Posted in Historical writing, novel writing, travel, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The flip side of the ho-hum holiday issue… (Encore)

Based on some of the feedback I got in response to my last post–which I opted not to show in the comments–and some second thoughts of my own, I’m rethinking the holiday happenstance issue because of an important component I overlooked: comic … Continue reading

Posted in Memoir, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Williamsburg woes, part deux…. (Encore)

It turns out I’m not done with the whole Colonial Williamsburg thing. In fact, I recall staying awake nights fretting about newly discovered details (new for me, anyway) concerning life in the 18th century as I worked on my Revolutionary … Continue reading

Posted in Historical writing, novel writing, travel, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

How much is enough? (Encore)

I’m reminded of those uber-annoying commercials featuring lip-twisting matrons agonizing over the proper number of prunes needed to ensure regularity. Bleah! What caused me to dredge up such a memory? A trip to Colonial Williamsburg, of all places. With my … Continue reading

Posted in Historical writing, novel writing, travel, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Edit your writing; don’t edit your life

  Most of us have had moments in our lives when something bad happened. The scale of “bad” is incredibly broad. It stretches from forgettable to life-changing and covers a  staggering array of situations, actions, reactions, and consequences. For memoir writers, … Continue reading

Posted in Memoir, Uncategorized, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

When Yay Becomes Yuck

There comes a point in the development of most novels, maybe even all ’em, when the writer throws up his hands, his pen, and maybe his beer, and says, “This is shit. It isn’t working. The characters aren’t talking to … Continue reading

Posted in editing, novel writing, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Story as striptease

Despite being opposites–stories are additive; striptease is subtractive–one can still draw parallels. An ecdysiast (look it up) teases her (or his) audience by making them wonder how much farther she/he will go. Successful genre fiction does much the same thing, … Continue reading

Posted in editing, novel writing, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Story Telling vs. Storytelling

There’s a distinct difference between storytelling, in the traditional sense, and telling your story, especially if you haven’t yet written it down. Novelists are storytellers; there’s no question about that. Some are better than others, certainly, but the job description … Continue reading

Posted in novel writing, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Aw geez, another textbook?

Another textbook? Yeah. Another one. And one that makes me pretty damned proud. I spend a great deal of time with folks my age and older, and the one thing many of us have in common is the desire to leave … Continue reading

Posted in Memoir, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments