Archive for April, 2012|Monthly archive page
Arts, faith, fiction, george michael, narwhals, Wikipedia, writers block, writing
In Writing on April 18, 2012 at 9:02 am
Every writer will find him or herself, now and then, faced with the dilemma of not knowing what to write. Monthly, weekly, maybe even daily, we face bouts of writer’s block of varying severity — but whether it’s just a five-minute blank or a month-long drought, the means of overcoming it is simple: you gotta have faith.
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I’m not talking about George Michael’s soul-stirring*, life-affirming, guilty-pleasuring (that sounds wrong) 80s hit — I’m talking about the belief that, no matter what, no matter how blocked you may be, you will always, in the end, come up with something incredible to put on the page. Read the rest of this entry »
advice, fiction, mysteries, punchlines, stories, story, writing, writing advice
In Writing on April 17, 2012 at 7:22 am
After yesterday’s post, I thought it might be useful today to talk about a writing principle related to that story: the principle of avoiding ‘punchlines.’
What is a ‘punchline’ story?
We’ve all read punchline stories — stories where the whole meaning or effect hinges on a twist at the very end. Punchlines are the basis not only of jokes but also of mystery stories and spy thrillers and many a metaphysical mind-bender. These stories, just like jokes, are better or worse depending on how hard or easy it is to predict their final twist.
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creative writing, fiction, flash fiction, medicine, short stories, stories, writing
In Fiction on April 16, 2012 at 6:53 pm
My job gets me up early, when the streets are empty and quiet except for the growls of far-away trucks, the chirps of their reversals, and the shuffling feet and subdued grumbles of the vagrants at the station.
So I am walking now, through this silent, noisy landscape, and here, with all the others, I see a homeless man sitting on a blanket, a knife in one hand and three fingers missing on the other. Blood is pouring from what’s left of pinky, ring and middle.
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creative writing, fiction, long sentences, writing, writing exercises
In Writing on April 13, 2012 at 4:23 pm
Sometimes in writing it’s important to challenge yourself to stretch your abilities, even if what you come up with, at the end of the exercise, is a horrible, steaming pile of mangled syntax and mixed up metaphors. Nobody actually needs to be able to bench press 700 pounds (except for those women who save their children from, you know, crashing spaceships and such with incredible feats of superhuman strength) but athletes still do it because it helps them condition themselves in general.
That’s where today’s exercise comes in: writing really, really, absurdly long sentences.
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cocktails, drink, drink recipes, food, recipes, scotch, writing
In Food and Drink on April 12, 2012 at 6:20 pm
It’s no big secret that some of the greatest writers throughout history have also been some of the greatest imbibers of spirits (read: drunks) — and while I’m not here to suggest that talent lies at the bottom of a bottle, the fact remains: Sometimes writers just gotsta grab a drink. They’re full of angst and feeling and, well, apparently liquor, and every now and then that mixture necessitates a break with a firmly-grasped tumbler in a dimly-lit bar. Read the rest of this entry »
college, davidson college, school, writing
In Writing on April 11, 2012 at 2:28 pm
There I was, sitting in my off-campus house, when I noticed — for the 324th time since becoming a Davidson College student — the arrival of a friendly email from the editor of the student magazine, Libertas. I gave the email a quick scan, having learned what to expect by then (a general plea for article ideas, writers, or just warm bodies to fill out the editorial meeting), and then moved to do what I always did when receiving a Libertas email: delete it before I felt guilty. I was a senior, and had been on the Libertas mailing list since the freshman year activity fair, and yet I’d never even shown up to a meeting, much less actually contributed a piece. But I wasn’t quick enough this time, and before I could delete the damn thing, one of the editor’s postscripts gave me pause (yes, pause):
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contests, fiction, writing, writing contests
In Writing on April 10, 2012 at 3:40 pm
A great way to keep yourself writing, get some feedback and (we can dream, right?) earn publication and cash rewards is to enter contests. So for quick reference I’ve collected a few short story contests in one place with deadlines coming up next month.
Check them out — click the links for full submission guidelines — and good luck!
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florida, george zimmerman, gun control, journalism, news, opinion, self defense, stand your ground, trayvon martin
In O'Pinions on April 10, 2012 at 1:31 pm
If you’ve been following the news surrounding the death of Trayvon Martin — the Florida teen shot and killed by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman — you’re bound to have noticed a change in coverage over the last few days: News outlets have started using different photos of Martin and Zimmerman than the ones they’ve used from the start.
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books, writing, writing exercises
In Writing on April 9, 2012 at 3:06 pm
Every serious writer — even if they plan on breaking every rule it contains — should have a copy of Strunk and White’s Elements of Style, but what else should be sitting on your shelf next to the dictionary, thesaurus, rhyming dictionary and … rhyming thesaurus? Read the rest of this entry »
black eyed peas, books, fiction, music, my humps, writing, writing exercises
In Fiction, Writing on April 6, 2012 at 2:26 pm
Let’s start with a definition (for readers of yesterday’s post, not usually the best way to start):
Transmogrify
verb (transitive)
To change in appearance or form, especially strangely or grotesquely; transform
For writing students (or maybe only to students of a certain Professor Randy Nelson at Davidson College) a transmogrification is also a writing exercise where you take a piece of writing, maybe a poem or a newspaper clipping or some song lyrics, and rewrite it in a completely different and unexpected form.
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