Monthly Archives: April 2013

Clutter Control

Posted on April 30, 2013 by karinwritesdangerously

“Clutter is the disease of American writing. We are a society strangling in unnecessary words, circular constructions, pompous frills, and meaningless jargon.” “People read with their ears, whether they know it or not.” William Zinsser On the bookshelves of many … Continue reading →

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Insightful Instructions

Posted on April 29, 2013 by karinwritesdangerously

“Obstacles are instructions, not obstructions.” Brian Tracy Hitting a writing roadblock is no fun. These potholes of the page can take many forms: We can find ourselves struggling with a thorny plot point or a character whose energy seems to … Continue reading →

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Truth Telling

Posted on April 27, 2013 by karinwritesdangerously

There’s something about a great piece of theater that thrills and mystifies. We see characters up on a stage and we know they’re characters and that they’re up on a stage, but somehow we enter into a different world with … Continue reading →

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Publishing Pointers

Posted on April 26, 2013 by karinwritesdangerously

“You have to learn how to pick the right idea, develop deep fascinating characters, write believable dialogue, build a world, create suspense, hone your voice, craft a plot with a satisfying beginning, middle and ending, edit edit edit, rewrite rewrite … Continue reading →

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Playing Around

Posted on April 25, 2013 by karinwritesdangerously

“The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play.” Arnold Toynbee After a major work funk yesterday and feeling pretty low, I rebounded today. How did I shake myself up and get myself energized and excited again? … Continue reading →

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Writing Through

Posted on April 24, 2013 by karinwritesdangerously

“When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up, for that is just the place and the time when the tide … Continue reading →

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Revision Checklist

Posted on April 23, 2013 by karinwritesdangerously

“There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.” W. Somerset Maugham “Poetry lurks in simple language. Great story does, too. You don’t need big words or tangled phrasings or clever stunting to convey … Continue reading →

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Seeing Clearly

Posted on April 22, 2013 by karinwritesdangerously

“See a thing clearly and describe it simply.” Arthur Brisbane How easy that sounds and how hard it is to do! That’s what’s mastery is, isn’t it? To see clearly and to capture what you see simply and forcefully? Think … Continue reading →

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Scene Design

Posted on April 20, 2013 by karinwritesdangerously

Scene development is critical to good storytelling, whether the work at hand is a play or a novel. Building a story scene by scene takes time, patience, and a large dose of ingenuity. It’s often tempting to use scenes as … Continue reading →

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New World

Posted on April 19, 2013 by karinwritesdangerously

“Authors Turn to a New Publisher They Trust: Themselves” — this headline in a recent New York Times story really caught my attention. In the latest dispatch from publishing land, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and author David Mamet has decided … Continue reading →

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