Hands-on After a complete reordering of my novel, which resulted in the deletion or streamlining of several scenes, and the writing of additional scenes and subsequent transitions… and then rewriting two major scenes as my agent suggested… and THEN softening the narrator’s stance toward her mother…and much honing, sweating and worries, I submitted the manuscript back to my agent for review. I am … [Read more...]
When You’re Strange
It’s no secret to those who know me well that Jim Morrison is an obsession of mine, as well as an influence on my writing and art (see Linda + Jim Interview). My poetry chapbook, Dear Jim, is based on a poem that's actually a letter to him, apologizing for my (then) crush on Russell Crowe. I created a piece of art with Jim’s image, Angel in Death, that was used in the indie film Celebrities in … [Read more...]
A Writing to Writers Campaign
In "Making a Literary Life," Carolyn See suggests a campaign of writing one letter of praise or appreciation to a writer every day. She envisions white envelopes crisscrossing in the sky like sailboats of praise to solitary writers. Or something like that. I’m paraphrasing. But isn’t is a wonderful idea? I believe the rewards are great, even if only one out of five or ten authors ever respond to … [Read more...]
How To Write a Hook
One Electrifying Sentence: A hook encapsulates a book in one electrifying sentence. It will grab the attention of agents, editors, publishers, bookstore managers and clerks, bloggers, journalists, reviewers and readers. So how do you write a hook? Michael Kimball and Stonecoast Alumna Bix Skahill have a simple formula they call The Art of the Hook: Start with a protagonist. Use an adjective … [Read more...]
Cultural References in Writing
A Fabulous Plastic Hoopla: In my novel, the narrator’s mother has a “fabulous plastic hoopla" where the saleslady extols the virtues of Tupperware to fawning women drinking vodka-spiked punch with a scum-like foam of quivering pastel sherbet. The point of the scene is not the burping storage containers, but the daughter’s uncanny observations of the women in the 60’s, and how, “with fixed smiles … [Read more...]