"You got the camel’s hump through
the eye of the needle, then you discovered the camel was a Bactrian."
Friday, October 24, 2014
Friday, October 17, 2014
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Chaotic Cleome
This is the first year I've tried to grow cleome, and they have been an absolute delight. The close ups seem chaotic to me, but well, it's something different.
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Being Character Smart
At
the SCBWI-MI fall conference, I listened to a talk by the brilliant Kristin Remenar on Common Core Standards. One of her slides was about Multiple Intelligences and playing to students’ strengths by appreciating how they
learn. Multiple Intelligences include:
Word-smart
Logic-smart
Picture-smart
Music-smart
Body-smart
People-smart
Self-smart
Nature-smart
Follow
this link for detailed descriptions. (Of course, most people have more than one
kind of smarts.)
Kris’
talk got me thinking about how I could use character smarts to improve my
writing. In every story, the main character must develop new skills, acquire
new knowledge, or overcome personal challenges to achieve his or her goals.
Characters do this by learning.
Determining
how characters learn allows a writer to enhance character development and
strengthen the plot. Suppose a character is a picture-smart artist. If she
achieves her goals through an increase in self-confidence that accompanies the
refinement of her artistic skills, the novel will ring true. On the other hand,
if a self-smart individual, who prefers to work alone, is forced to collaborate
with a group of people-smart characters, the story will resound with tension.
What
kind of smarts does your protagonist have? How does he or she learn in your
story?
Sunday, October 5, 2014
Mushrooms
We went for a hike by the Red Cedar River. There isn't much fall color in Mid-Michigan yet, but there were lots of fungi.
They start looking like this and grow into the bell shapes shown in the top picture.
This is one of the largest fairy rings I've ever seen. It may be difficult to make out in the picture, but those white shapes that ring that group of trees are all mushrooms.
a closeup of the mushrooms in the fairy ring
Friday, October 3, 2014
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Stalled Out
It’s
frustrating and discouraging when writing grinds to a halt. Figuring out why
can be the first step to restarting the engine.
The
internal critic, the anti-muse, the self-doubt is too loud. Stories that exist
only in the writer’s imagination cannot be fixed. If I write it, I can improve
it later.
Life
is happening. Sometimes every ounce of a writer’s creative energy is required
to cope with his or her own life so that nothing is left for characters’ lives.
I try to calm down, take notes if I can, and remember that life experiences
make me a better writer.
Nothing
is happening in the story. Not every novel is an action-packed thriller, but writing
often stalls when the characters aren’t doing anything. I let them misbehave to
jumpstart the story.
The
writer can’t figure out how to solve a problem. If I’ve painted myself into a
corner, I go back to the last opportunity for escape and rewrite.
The
writer’s subconscious is aware of a problem that the writer’s conscious mind
has yet to recognize. I bring the last semi-working chapter to critique group,
and their feedback brings the problem to light.
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