Straight talk from the sisters about blood, sweat and ink
The hot topic the past few weeks at WOS has been critique groups/partners and it’s made me think about mine. I’ve had many these past years. Some are writers like myself, while others are friends and family, more of what I would consider beta readers. As I reflected on these relationships, I realized that I’ve …
Continue reading “Men as Crit Partners: The Male POV”
Kat, the protagonist (portrayed by Julia Stiles) in the film 10 Things I Hate About You, is not a likable character. Nor does she strive to be likable. It’s more the reverse with her; she’s intentionally rude, domineering, and opinionated. Since the film is based on The Taming of the Shrew, making her a bit …
Continue reading “10 Things I (Don’t) Hate About You”
In last month’s post, I described how to pay attention to genre elements when writing a novel. Certainly I don’t mean to imply there are actual rules for how to write mysteries. I think the number of mystery subgenres is evidence enough of that! And just how many mystery subgenres are there? Four. No, no, …
Continue reading “The Mystery of Mysteries: Part 2”
Critique Groups have been top-of-mind here at WriteOnSisters for the last couple weeks. Callie wrote a pro writers group post and Sharon presented the counter opinion. Whether you’re for or against probably depends on your experience. Most writers carry some baggage around when it comes to critique partners and groups. We’ve all been burned before. …
Continue reading “Plenty of Feedback: A Writer’s Guide to Finding a Critique Partner Match”
We at Writeonsisters decided to take on some classics, and attempt to define why they were so revered and have held up so well ever since they were published. It made us think about the definition of art; who exactly defines what a good book is? Sales? Reputation? Does the fact that a book has …
Continue reading “What We’re Reading: Reviewing the Classics”
I love books. The covers, the flypapers, the feel of the paper, the enticement on the book jacket. I can get captured inside of thirty seconds. I used to spend my life in Borders surrounded by books and magazines and literary types in the café that had the world’s best coffee and pastries. I’d …
Continue reading “So Many Books, So Little Time”
The topic of Point of View came up among The Sisters this week and I decided to take a closer look at this important literary device. Point of view is the lens through which the writer (or the narrator voice) tells the story. Think of it as the lens in a movie camera, standing back …
Continue reading “Point of View: When Your Voice is Not Your Own”
Welcome to part two of Releasing Your Inner Poe. If you missed part one you can find it here. With fall rapidly approaching I’m hard at work on a few projects with dark gothic themes, but more on that in a future post. Since I’m struggling with the task of establishing the right balance of …
Continue reading “Releasing Your Inner Poe, Part Two.”
When Callie Armstrong wrote her post on Friday about writing groups and whether to join one or not, it brought to mind a day-long, pre-convention writing workshop I attended in March before the Left Coast Crime Conference. You might want to re-read her post before going further. Oh, boy! At the workshop, there was quite …
Continue reading “Writing Groups: On the Other Hand . . .”
I’ve tried to keep an open mind about how writers write ever since I met a guy who swore he only ever wrote anything good while he was naked, but last weekend when I was in Barnes and Noble writing and I heard two women my age talking about how stupid they think writers’ groups …
Continue reading “In Favor Of Writing Groups”