Straight talk from the sisters about blood, sweat and ink
As part of my ongoing posts on understanding character archetypes, here are my next three examples to study. Last week’s entry was for the Hero, the Leader and the Mentor, for those catching up, it might help to read that post first. The next three characters are predominantly used for the protagonist in a story; …
Continue reading “Casting Call: 3 More Great Character Archetypes”
Sculpture tells a story, the same way a book does. The difference lies in the medium, but the essence of any art form rests in connection and communication. As children, we learned to associate shapes with their function, even before we identified them with words. We didn’t know how to write VROOM VROOM, but we …
Continue reading “Cross Training For Writers: Think Like A Sculptor”
Writing dialogue is the heart of my writing. A scene always takes shape in my mind with two or more people having a conversation. I put the dialogue to paper and then add the physical setting, background details, emotions, inner monologue and body language. It’s the only way I know how to write. As I’ve …
Continue reading “He Said, She Said: Writing Dialogue”
As I mentioned in my last post, The Dos and Don’t of Character Chemistry, I love to write stories with huge casts. As a historian, coming up with characters is easy for me, I always start the process with real historical figures, twisting and combining traits from different ones until my characters take shape. Unfortunately, …
Continue reading “Casting Call: 3 Fictional Character Archetypes”
Ballet remains the one career in which a girl gets to bring a crowd to its feet while wearing a tiara and tutu. Ballet’s history; its demanding, often petulant nature; its narratives, romance, melodrama and mystery enthrall audiences from Russia and China to Cuba and South Africa. Giselle and Swan Lake have a fairy tale …
Continue reading “Cross Training For Writers: Think Like A Ballerina”
If you’ve read my first post, you’ll know I’m a screenwriter who took 2013 off from a career penning cartoons to write a novel. Now it’s 2014 and I’m back in the TV biz writing on a super fun animation show. Not that I’m shelving the novel, no way! I’ll still work on it in …
Continue reading “Screenwriter Tip for Novelists – Pitch Before You Write”
I love fairy tales, which is a sad confession for a 1970s feminist and a woman of reasonably advanced age. But once upon a time, my favorite babysitter gave me what soon became a treasured Christmas gift: SHIRLEY TEMPLE’S FAVORITE FAIRY TALES, or something like that. She knew I adored Shirley Temple after having seen …
Continue reading “The Anatomy of a Fairy Tale: True Confession”
We’ve all had this experience, we hear about a new book, movie or TV show and it resonates with us. We know we’re going to love it. We count down the days to the release. During the waiting agony, we talk the ears off anyone who stands still long enough, eagerness dripping from every gushing …
Continue reading “Character Chemistry: 6 Dos and Don’ts for Getting a Group Together.”
As one year tips into the next, a lot of blogs look back as well as forward. I read an interesting post on Kristen Lamb’s blog that forecasts trends in the publishing industry, and she’s pretty spot on if you ask me. Artists in different disciplines will begin to work more collaboratively as we all …
Continue reading “Cross Training For Writers: Think Like A Film Maker”
For most people, holidays mean spending time with friends and family, and not going to work. It’s pretty simple if you commute – when you’re not at your place of employment, you’re not working. But for writers, the workplace is anywhere we have a pen and paper or a laptop or a functioning brain. In …
Continue reading “How Writers Do Holidays”