Monthly Archives: February 2014

Unlike Athena

Posted on February 28, 2014 by karinwritesdangerously

“Fiction, like sculpture or painting, begins with a rough sketch. One gets down the characters and their behavior any way one can, knowing the sentences will have to be revised, knowing the characters’ actions may change. It makes no difference … Continue reading →

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Character Flaws

Posted on February 27, 2014 by karinwritesdangerously

Creating complex characters is one of the biggest challenges we face as writers — especially when we create them out of our imagination. While we are often eager to showcase their strengths and skills, we aren’t always so willing to … Continue reading →

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Human Condition

Posted on February 26, 2014 by karinwritesdangerously

It sounded thrilling to me when I learned that Elizabeth Gilbert’s novel about botany and exploration in the Victorian era, The Signature of All Things, is competing with five nonfiction books for the Wellcome book prize, which is awarded to … Continue reading →

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Wily Wilde

Posted on February 25, 2014 by karinwritesdangerously

“Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.” Oscar Wilde Recipe for a great evening: a great book, great company, delicious pizza, and just enough imbibing to keep you feeling frisky and fresh. This was the mix we came up with … Continue reading →

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Something Comes

Posted on February 24, 2014 by karinwritesdangerously

“Inspiration usually comes during work, not before it.” Madeleine L’Engle Here’s something amazing: You can sit down to write and feel that you have nothing to say and decide that you’ll just say anything in order to have something to … Continue reading →

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Wise Words

Posted on February 22, 2014 by karinwritesdangerously

In honor of Washington’s birthday, also my wonderful husband David’s birthday, here are some words of wisdom to guide us: “It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.” “It is better to be alone than in bad … Continue reading →

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New Paths

Posted on February 21, 2014 by karinwritesdangerously

“If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.” Dolly Parton For me, one of the amazing things about the Olympics is hearing all the comeback stories about athletes who may have stepped away from their sport … Continue reading →

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Unseen Forces

Posted on February 20, 2014 by karinwritesdangerously

“There’s a secret that real writers know that wannabe writers don’t, and the secret is this: It’s not the writing part that’s hard. What’s hard is sitting down to write. What keeps us from sitting down is Reistance.” Steven Pressfield, … Continue reading →

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Daily Commitment

Posted on February 19, 2014 by karinwritesdangerously

“Improvement is a daily commitment.” Ed Agresta One of the motivational hot lines I call every day is Ed Agresta’s “Power Thoughts” (609.660.8156). He often has pithy, insightful ideas to share that give me a boost — and something to … Continue reading →

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Book Map

Posted on February 18, 2014 by karinwritesdangerously

Wow! In preparation for a workshop I’m going to take on plotting, I’ve been working on what’s called a book map. This exercise maps a draft scene by scene in order to show how the plot moves, where characters exit … Continue reading →

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