The Most Important Book on a Writer’s Shelf
The most tattered and worn reference book on my shelf is The Synonym Finder, by J. I. Rodale. It claims to be the largest, most comprehensive thesaurus in print. I don’t know about that, but I do know that this book is my most helpful writing tool. When I’ve used the same word twice in a paragraph and I need to find a new way to say the same thing, I go to The Synonym Finder. The word dagger, for instance, has almost 30 alternatives. Looking for a title? The Synonym Finder can help you find one. Just look up a frequently used word in your text and see if there might be a clever alternative. Can’t think of how to spell a word? Not sure what a word means? Want a more active verb to describe your character’s actions? I use this book for...
Read MoreWhat Changes in Your Memoir?
A well-told story always involves change—the main character is lost and unable to function in the world and, as the book proceeds, he finds his way through the maze of life to a new understanding of what it means to be a citizen of our world. Memoir is no exception to this rule of change. Even in the shortest of stories, something must be different at the end. A new understanding is gained, a new self-assurance is found, a new way of looking at a situation is created. When writing your own story, look for the growth stages in your life. How did you manage to raise children, work full-time and volunteer for a cause every week? How did you survive after the death of a spouse? How did you work your way through depression into a brighter world? Look for the...
Read MoreWriting in the Garden Update
One of the participants of our packed “Writing in the Garden” class last month was blogger and travel writer, Shelley Odendahl. She has posted a photo of my sister and me as we spoke about our favorite subject, writing! Please click the link to go to Shelley’s website and read her post.: http://realize-your-dreams.net/2012/08/29/creative-experiences/ You might also be interested in reading an excerpt of Shelley’s new travel memoir, Traveling Together: Cliff and Me and the Motorcyle Makes Three http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0099THAW4. I helped Shelley with the final edits on her memoir and she really has created a fun read about traveling around the USA on a motorcyle. If you can, please support her efforts with a purchase of her book —...
Read MoreWhy an Editor?
As a freelance editor, I am the human spell-check for my family. My husband, while typing an email, will call out a question on how to spell a word. Or my son, while working on his homework, will ask if he should punctuate with a comma or semi-colon. Usually, I can rattle off the answer without much thought. But when I prepared the flyer for my recent “Writing in the Garden” my spelling skills failed me. The focus of the day was writing without cliche and my sister, author Candace Simar, had agreed to co-teach the class. She was horrified when she read the rough draft of the flyer with the word “clique” instead of “cliche.” I was able to fix the error and we had a good laugh. We all need an editor or trusted friend to look over...
Read MoreHow to Create Characters Your Readers Will Love!
If your reader doesn’t care, they won’t continue reading. So how do we create engaging characters? One of the best ways is to add something your characters loves — perhaps it’s an animal, a child, or an object. It’s often said that no character is all good or all bad. Give the bad guy in your story a dog. Create a scene where he shows a particular kindness to the animal, even if it’s a kindness he would never show to a human. A woman who loves a child doesn’t seem as evil when she steals money from the collection plate at church. A character who strokes a watch fob of his dead sister’s hair suddenly feels more alive. Give your characters something to love and you will create a bond with the reader, a bond that...
Read MoreDialogue Tip—Show Emotion Through Actions
We have all heard the writing rule show don’t tell. In the two examples written below, the first dialogue sentence tells the speaker’s emotion. The second example shows the emotion. First example: “I won’t do it,” he said angrily. Change to: “I won’t do it,” he said, slamming his fist onto the table. Second example: “I can’t do that,” Sarah said nervously. Change to: Sarah peeled the label off her beer bottle and tore the paper into small pieces. “I can’t do that.” In both cases the revised version shows the character’s emotions without the telling adverbs angrily or nervously. Go through your manuscript and look for ways you can show emotions through action. Your writing...
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