Straight talk from the sisters about blood, sweat and ink
When I was little, I was often criticized for being too sensitive. I didn’t just cry in sad movies, I sobbed, and sometimes carried harrowing images of war, cruelty or injustice around with me for days. I rescued ants and relocated snails from places where they might be squished to hidden areas where they could …
Continue reading “Empathy”
Everything has a beginning. Life; romance; college; a scene in a movie; the letter ‘A’, starting us off on an alphabetical blogging bonanza. As a beginner writer a gazillion years ago navigating Writing 101, one of the first rules I learned from a group of heavyweight author-teachers was WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW. Yes but…what about …
Continue reading “Anthropology And Culture In Service To The Novel”
Today the Sisters welcome guest blogger Kathy Weyer. Kathy is one of Robin’s old critique partners. The two met at a writer’s conference one memorable Mother’s Day weekend a few years ago and stayed in touch. We’re excited to have Kathy join us and share some of her time management ideas. Writing is an adventure …
Continue reading “Guest Post: Create Writing Time by Kathy Weyer”
We live our lives at dizzying speed. Things pass us by so quickly we miss a whole lot, and we’ve gotten used to this accelerated pace, even come to crave it. I’ve been trying to keep up, but to tell you the truth I often feel uncomfortable, as though I’m trying to fit into a …
Continue reading “Trusting The Reader, Trusting The Writer: Hidden Luxuries Of Literary Fiction”
Now that I’ve written several manuscripts and restored a number of classic cars, I can tell you the emotional stages of each process are nearly identical. I know that may sound hard to believe, so for those lacking the car restoration experience allow me to elaborate. Passion: No one would begin a project that sucks …
Continue reading “The 11 Emotional Stages of Writing A Novel: It’s Just Like Restoring a Car”
For a few heart-stopping moments, I considered leaving this post blank because writing sex is difficult. Seasoned writers I know avoid it like the plague. I thought maybe I’d toss in a few photos instead: one of Bigfoot and/or the Yeti; possibly a couple of anatomical drawings from a medical textbook; a quote or two …
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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”
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”