In some ways, writing fiction is like acting. It requires a lot of getting into the head of a character and seeing the world through their eyes. Sometimes your characters are similar enough to you that their voice is easy to capture. However, stories tend to take their characters to the extreme, meaning they may,…
I had a creative writing instructor once tell the class that, sometimes, when he was going through a case of writer’s block, he would start with the title of a piece and go from there. And one of the best places for titles, he said, was Craigslist. He told us to go through the “For…
A fun, imaginative, and romantic story that I have returned to time and again, and will continue to do so as the years pass. Yet another one that is a bit “young” for the average adult reader…but as long as you’re still young at heart, it certainly doesn’t matter.
A few years ago, Disney released a wonderful movie titled Saving Mr. Banks, which detailed the exhaustive process the creators went through in order to obtain movie rights for the beloved classic, Mary Poppins. The storyline paralleled children’s author P.L. Travers’ experiences working with Disney and his writers with events from her childhood—events that ultimately…
While this is not a piece of writing advice I frequently employ, it has nevertheless come to my aid on more than one occasion: do the opposite. If you find yourself stuck at a certain part in your story, and nothing else seems to be working, do the opposite of whatever it is you’ve been…