The Write Spot Blog by Marlene Cullen
Just Write
Using the same scene you wrote about for Prompt #108, write from the other person’s point of view. All inner thought, motivation and drama come from the secondary character’s point of view. Or take any two characters: First write from one point of view, then write from the other person’s point of view.
“A Christmas Legacy” reviewed by Rebecca Rosenberg. “A Christmas Legacy” by Anne Perry is a heartwarming and suspenseful historical mystery novel set in London in the late 19th century. The story follows Gracie, a former maid who is now married and has a child of her own. When her friend’s daughter, Millie, comes to her with a story about missing items from the kitchen of the household where she works, Gracie agrees to take her place for a few days to investigate. Gracie soon discovers that the couple who employs Millie are neglectful of their elderly grandmother, who lives in the upstairs bedroom. The husband and wife are hoping that the grandmother will die soon so that they can inherit her money. Gracie is determined to help Millie clear her name and to protect the grandmother from further neglect. “A Christmas Legacy” is a well-written and suspenseful mystery novel. Perry…
Today’s writing prompt has three parts. ~ I wish I had . . . write for 7 minutes ~ I wish I could . . . write for 7 minutes ~ Write as if you had accomplished what you wish you had or wish you could. What would that look like?
‘Tis the season for NaNoWriMo. National Novel Writing Month is held during the month of November. Have you ever done it? Have you thought about it and wondered if you could or should do it? I say: Go for it! What do you have to lose? And, you might gain some excellent writing. “National Novel Writing Month began in 1999 as a daunting but straightforward challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel in thirty days.” Sharon Oard Warner says “A work of fiction that logs in at 50,000 words is actually a novella . . .” So, if the idea of writing a novel is overwhelming, consider writing a novella. Prepare for NaNoWriMo Julie Artz writes about her NaNoWriMo experience on Jane Friedman’s blog, “Want to Win NaNoWriMo? The Secret is Preparation.” Learn from her mistakes to get “that coveted NaNoWriMo win.” Prolific author Bella Andre wrote about her struggles…
Choose a scene and write. Scene 1 You are sitting at your kitchen table. The morning sun lights up the room. You wrap your hands around a mug of warm, steaming, fragrant [type of drink]. What are you daydreaming about? Scene 2 You are sitting on a porch, looking out at [wherever you are]. A movement catches your eye, reminding you of . . . Scene 3 You and (name of dinner partner) are enjoying dessert. You are surprised by . . . Scene 4 There you are, in the middle of [something]. What are you thinking about? #amwriting #justwrite #creativewriting
Have you read something that feels “off?” Or been bored with the sluggish, plodding plot? Do you wonder why the novel isn’t moving along? It could be the lack of balance between narration, dialogue, and action. As a writer you want to keep your story moving and engaging. Weaving “We want to balance our scenes using three elements of fiction: dialogue, action and narrative. This is one reason you want to put your character in a scene with other characters as often as possible: Scenes that weave together these three elements engage the reader at an emotional level much more effectively than scenes that are only dialogue, only narrative or only action.” —Gloria Kempton One at a time Sometimes you want to focus on one aspect. Use dialogue, for example, to show a character’s personality and motives. “If you want to highlight a particular character trait in your viewpoint character…
Robert Crais: Passion is the engine that has to fire the whole thing. Successful writing is all about passion, to create a world that’s full and complete and engrosses the reader. First and foremost, the reader is you. If you’re writing about a world in which you need to research to learn about it, then feel passionate about it. If you’re not passionate about what you’re writing, you’re writing the wrong thing. You want heat, you want fire. That’s what we gather around and warm our hands with. Excerpted from “Fired Up,” by Jessica Strawser, Writer’s Digest, Nov/Dec 2016 #amwriting #justwrite #creativewriting
If you’re looking for a murder mystery with a clever wooly sleuth, then “Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story” by Leonie Swann is for you! I haven’t read many mysteries, but I do love a good animal story, so this book caught my attention. Who wouldn’t be interested in a story about a flock of sheep determined to solve the mystery of their shepherd’s death? How, you may ask, does a flock of sheep solve a mystery? Well, these aren’t just any sheep. George, their shepherd, read to them every day, so they’ve been exposed to philosophical literature, mysteries, and romance novels. With the intrepid Miss Maple in the lead, the gang escapes their pasture to do a little detective work in the village while trying to go unnoticed by the village butcher. They gaze up at cloud sheep – what becomes of a sheep when they die—as they…
Memoir is similar to many elements of fiction: Careful scene setting, pacing, tension, conflict. Seduce the reader with a confiding tone. Reveal secrets. The best secrets are those that the author reveals or learns about self in the process, “Ah, did I really think that?” Readers are interested in your conflicts. It’s important to modulate good times and bad times. “The best memoirs explore and reveal conflict in a way that illuminates and startles.” —Kat Meads Consider the scope of your memoir. It’s not necessary to start from when you were born and work your way up. Don’t try to write about everything. Take one aspect. The year you were in Paris, for example. If you go with a chronological way of telling, share just the important events that shaped you. The idea is to look objectively at your life to write a richer subjective memoir. Part of writing memoir…
“When I write, my self disappears.” —Natalie Goldberg