Archive | February, 2014

Mixing First and Third Person

27 Feb

003Well welcome back to the writing site for writers, by writers, about writing. I hope you are finding this helpful.

No takers on the guest blog today so I guess I’ll go it alone.

But first, a quote.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Quality is decided by the depth at which the work incorporates the alternatives within itself, and so masters them.”

Theodor Adorno
I looked long and hard for a quote that would fit the thought of the day and this one seems to do it nicely.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

I have mentioned on several sites that I am done with the first draft of my novel “The Long Walk Home.”  After I finished that first draft I was talking about it with Bev’s daughter Allora, and during that conversation she mentioned that perhaps I should try mixing first and third person voices in the novel.  I gave it some thought and realized how much more depth it would add, so this second draft is all about doing that.

For those of you who have never done this, it is not as easy as it may sound.  As you well know, first person is written as though the main character is the one speaking.  Third person is the story told through the eyes of someone not involved in the story.  That is a quick summary of the two but I’m sure you understand.

The first draft of my novel was told completely in first person.  Thanks to Allora I realized that two other characters in the novel, who are very important to the story, needed more depth.  Third person allows me to do that.  Now I am going back through the entire novel and adding those passages in third person and “fleshing out” those two other characters.  I think it will be very effective when I am done.

TIP OF THE DAY

When mixing first and third person, I would suggest writing the novel in one voice first, and then going back and adding the other voice. It is quite hard to bounce back and forth between first and third person, and mistakes are easily made when you try to do it.

PROMPT OF THE DAY

A Saturday drive in late April, 2012 014

Remember your five senses when you look at this picture.  Write 200 words describing the picture using all five senses.  This is a great writing exercise to get you in the habit of using those senses, which will mean that your readers will be able to relate to your writing much better.

LAST THOUGHT OF THE DAY

I would love to have a poet guest blog here.  Christy?  Audrey?  Any of you? I think we need to hear some thoughts from the true poets among us and not from me all the time. I may be a poet at heart but I am no poet.

UNTIL NEXT TIME

I was going to break into song and sing “Happy Trails To You” but decided against it.  Have a great day, great Friday and an even greater weekend.

Bill

“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”

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Creating Memorable Characters

25 Feb

003Good morning to you all!  I am very happy that someone took me up on my offer to guest blog.  Let me introduce you to Jennifer Arnett, who was so kind to do my work for me. J  The following is from Jennifer.  Oh, and Jennifer….you didn’t leave me a link…give me one and I’ll post it here so others can follow you.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.”  Winston Churchill

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

Do you ever think about the evil people of the world and what they were like as children?  Hitler was once a little two year old who needed a diaper change.   He probably shared his toys with the neighborhood kids.  He probably cried when he skinned his knee.  How then do you think he became the man he was?  What process corrupts the soul to a point of no return?  How does a boy turn into a monster?

TIP OF THE DAY 

As a writer you will be tempted to project yourself into your characters.  This can be positive, in that it creates an emotional bond between you and the character.  However, putting too much of yourself into the story can corner your character and dissuade growth.

When creating a character, you define everything about them; their hopes, dreams, moral code, beliefs, relationships, fears, flaws, and tastes.  Great writing comes out of the desire to understand the human condition.  To create extraordinary characters, you must learn to see the world through opposing lenses.

Here is the challenge:  Craft a character that is exactly the opposite of who you are.  If you are a patient person, create the character to be impatient.  If you believe in a higher power, create a character that does not.  If you believe in a system of justice, create a character that is unjust and lawless.

This will not only help you to create interesting villains, but you will come to realize, that once you figure out what a character is not, you can chip away at who they are.

 

NOTE FROM BILL

Again, thank you so much Jennifer.  The offer is open to any of you.  If you choose not to follow this format that is fine.  Whatever makes you comfortable. I would just like to see an exchange of ideas among writers, and this is one platform upon which we can do that.

Have a great week of writing.

Oh, one other thing….Sha gave me a heads up about a new offer from Amtrak…they will begin offering free writers’ residencies….ride free and write….sounds like a cool gig…here is an article on it.

Bill

“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”

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Are You A Writer Who Believes In Community?

21 Feb

003Happy Friday! I’m all messed up this week having forgotten to write a blog yesterday, so forgive me for my transgressions.  Sheez, it sounded like the old days making confessions to Father Donley.  Arggh, what a horrible memory! LOL

Today let’s talk about sharing ideas, but first a quote.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We are not cisterns made for hoarding, we are channels made for sharing.”

Billy Graham

 

 

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would quote Billy Graham. J  Live long enough and anything can happen.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

I have never believed that my writing friends are my competition.  What a silly concept.  My writing friends are my friends, and as such I share ideas with them.  If I need a cup of sugar I go next door; if I need a writing idea, I read other articles written by writers who I trust.  Pretty simple really.  There are hundreds of millions of readers out there, more than enough to go around for the few million writers.  You are not my competition; you are my support system.  If I can be of any help to you then simply ask and I’ll do what I can, but be warned that I expect the same from  you.  I hang with the winners, and those who do not want to share don’t need to hang in my writing neighborhood.

TIP OF THE DAY

Share with others your thoughts on writing. If you have found something that works then let others know. We are a community. We are the only ones who know how hard it is to be a writer.  Embrace that fact and use it.

Having said all that, I want to invite any of you who want to do a guest posting on this blog. All I ask is that it is related to writing and writing tips.  Tell us what is working for you; tell us what is not working for you.  Your posting can be as long as you want; just send it to me at holland1145@yahoo.com on a Word doc and I’ll share it in my blog with links to your website or other site.  Okay? Okay!

THANKS OF THE DAY

Thank you for your feedback about this blog. I’ll keep writing it since so many of you told me it is helpful to you….but feel free to do a guest blog so I don’t have to write so much. LOL

PROMPT OF THE DAY

074

Use it…don’t use it…this picture is here to help shake loose some ideas for you.

WRITER OF THE DAY

I want to give a shout out to Carb Diva on HubPages.  She was telling me her views are way down and so I thought I would introduce you to her. She writers recipes, and as you know I am, at times, a little hard on recipe writers….but this lady I like because she writes interesting introductions to her articles and actually shows a desire to make her work interesting.  You can find her here.

AND THAT’S IT FOR THIS WEEK

Have a great weekend! Give some thought to my guest blogging offer, and thank you so much for being here.

Bill

“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”

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Make Time For Writing

18 Feb

003Welcome back to the third full week of February in the year 2014.  I am rested; I am frisky; I even had snow a week ago which pleased me endlessly; in other words, I am ready to write.

In fact, I have so much to do this week that I just made an executive decision: this is going to be a short post.

First a quotation.

QUOTATION OF THE DAY

“You can’t move so fast that you try to change the mores faster than people can accept it. That doesn’t mean you do nothing, but it means that you do the things that need to be done according to priority.”

Eleanor Roosevelt
 THOUGHT OF THE DAY

I have heard this often; I don’t have the time to write every single day.

Well, of course, that is just so much nonsense.  The correct statement would be:  I don’t make the time to write every single day.

If you are serious about your writing then writing will become a priority in your life. Period!  As a priority, it will be allotted time each day.  Even if it is just a half hour daily, writing needs to be done.

Can I be clearer than that?

TIP OF THE DAY

Stop and reflect over a normal week.  When can you squeeze in an hour of writing?  Late at night before bedtime? Early in the morning before the kids get out of bed?  Find a time that works and then commit to writing at that time, daily, for one week.  At the end of the week adjust accordingly; the only adjustment you are not allowed to make is to quit writing.

PROMPT OF THE DAY

town_186

Here is your picture of the day. I think this is a new one; obviously my mind is on gardening of late, and I’m wondering what to do with the room we have left out back.

CONTEST OF THE DAY

The Innovative Short Fiction Contest is taking submissions now through March 15th.  Submissions can be 7,500 words or less and the entry fee is $15. You can read all about it here.

WRITER OF THE DAY

If you don’t know Ann then go meet here now at her HubPages page; she resides there under the profile name of Annart….find her here….she really is a very good online friend of mine and a very nice lady.

THAT’S IT FOR TODAY

Yes, I’ll be back Thursday.  I’m debating how much longer I want to do this blog. I don’t know that it serves a purpose.  I really don’t have that many followers and I’m not sure these tips and suggested sites are used or needed.  Let me know your thoughts and I’ll talk atcha again on Thursday.

Bill

“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”

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Prioritize Your Writing Time

6 Feb

003And welcome back y’all!  Hope you are ready for a productive day.  Let’s hit it hard today and then we have the weekend to rest up.  Remember that it is alright to take a break from writing; in fact, it is recommended.

Let’s talk about prioritizing today, a subject I’m pretty sure most writers can sink their teeth into.  First a quote and then my ramblings.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”
Stephen Covey

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

We are now into the first week of February.  In early writings I suggested you sit down at the first of the year and re-evaluate where you are regarding your platform and priorities.  Did you do that?

Here’s the thing:  those of us who write full-time, or have visions of writing full-time and making money at it, try to do everything at once.  We take on a full plate and then eventually kick ourselves in the butt because we are doing a half-assed job at everything.  We feel the pressure of money; we feel the pressure of time; and all that pressure makes us try to do more and more and more….and we end up doing less in terms of quality.

If you have not done so, sit down and write a list of your writing priorities.  What is most important? What is next?  Work down the list and schedule your time with that list in mind.  You cannot do everything on that list a little bit at a time; that is watering down the attention you give to each item and that is doing a disservice to yourself.

Remember that writing is a long-term gig.  You build your platform one brick at a time, no matter how long it takes to do so.

PROMPT OF THE DAY

slippers 001

Have fun with it; let your mind roam. Think of the five senses….and then write.

CONTEST OF THE DAY

The Nelligan Prize For Short Fiction is taking submissions now with a deadline of March 15th.  Entry fee is seventeen dollars and entries must be less than fifty pages.  You can find the details here.

WRITER OF THE DAY

I don’t run across too many high school kids on HubPages but I recently discovered one and I want to support her as much as possible.  Yes, I am a former teacher, so my heart is with the youngsters who have a passion for writing. Her name is greeneyedblondie and you can find her here.

AND THAT’S IT FOR THIS WEEK

I will see you again next Tuesday.  Remember, priorities and rest…those are your two main goals in the next couple of days.

Bill

“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”

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A Writer’s Responsibility To Community

4 Feb

003And a very Happy Tuesday to you all. I hope you all had as good a weekend as I had….my favorite football team is now World Champion!  My goodness, it certainly has been a boost for the community here in the Pacific Northwest.  People cheering with each other, high-fives with complete strangers, smiles on the faces of those you pass, team jerseys and colors everywhere…..and that is what I want to talk about today….community.

But first a quote…..

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community… Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own.”
Cesar Chavez

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

I have pounded this point before and I will continue to pound it.  I do not do this for me….I have had more than enough support in the last three years. Other writers have written articles about me, shared my work and bent over backwards to sing my praises…and I am eternally grateful for it.  My platform is strong and I am finding a modicum of success with more to come.

No, I am discussing this again because there are writers out there who need support and need a kind word.  If anyone should understand that it should be other writers.  We need to support each other.  Every one of you who is reading this has a blog….you all write articles….I am calling on you to support some other writer who may need a shoulder to lean on.  One kind word from you might be all the encouragement that writer needs to carry on.  Please give it some thought and give back to this writing community.

PROMPT OF THE DAY

Mt. Rainier May 12, 2012 026

Yes I love prompts and from your feedback I know you do as well…so here is a picture that hopefully will jog something loose in your brains and make it to the paper.

WRITER OF THE DAY

I would like to introduce you to my friend Victoria.  When she isn’t doing recipes she can churn out a very good article.  One such article can be found here.  Please give her your support.

THAT’S ALL I HAVE TIME FOR TODAY

Thank you for the visit and support.  I hope your writing flows smoothly today and always.  I will see you back here on Thursday with more odds and ends about writing.

Bill

“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”

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