I have trouble writing scenes.  Usually I feel that my description of the setting is too lean.  I like to let people use their imaginations, but I don’t think I give them enough to work with. That is a far cry from how I used to write.  When I first started writing I was always trying to paint beautiful pictures that flew on wings of purple prose.  I thought I needed to be both poetic and thorough to be a good writer.  Somewhere along the way (during my writing course, I think) I did a complete 180 degree turn and went minimal. Which way is right?  Looking at the writing I’m doing now I would say that neither is the […]

(Warning… the following post contains excessive use of the word “critique”… Viewer discretion is advised.) I think I may have mentioned it but three weeks ago I joined critters.org (www.critters.org) an online critique group.  The premise of the site is simple:  you critique other’s work and get credits for the critiques and, in turn, you can submit your work to be critiqued. Sounds simple enough, right?  In fact, it is simple; the site sends you three selections to critique every week and all you have to do to stay a member in good standing is keep up a 75% critique ratio (3 critiques completed every 4 weeks).  Members are also asked to keep the critiques professional and are advised to […]

I was recently reminded about the importance of keeping the continuity of the story in mind when I write.  You may think I’m referring to the actual timeline of the story, the characters and their relationships with each other and so on.  While those things are all important, they are not what I’m talking about in this case. Let me tell a short story to explain. You picked up a new story and are busy reading it.  The story takes place in the distant past, say during the height of the Roman Empire.  The characters are doing their thing, you can almost visualize the city and see the mayhem.  Then, out of the blue, the author refers to a Porsche.  It […]