The Writing Life Archives - Page 9 of 12

Why We Write

March 8, 2021 By Linda K Sienkiewicz

“Fiction is supposed to be, forgive me, less shitty than life. Better than life. It is supposed to make more sense than life. That’s one of the reasons we read, one of the reasons we write. We want … Continue reading >>

Why Great Stories Need Flaming Chainsaws

March 4, 2021 By Linda K Sienkiewicz

Ever wonder what elements in storytelling make a book catch fire? What makes a book impossible to put down? Flaming Chainsaws I found this gem of an essay on storytelling with an unlikely … Continue reading >>

English Language Groaners

October 7, 2019 By Linda K Sienkiewicz

In Memory of a Cornball My late father was great at telling corny jokes. And yes, I groaned, but I often laughed too, just because he was laughing so hard. Lousy jokes and laughter can be … Continue reading >>

What, Why, How: Aaron Hamburger on writing characters that readers will love

August 19, 2019 By Linda K Sienkiewicz

What: I write literary fiction and non-fiction. All of my books have been fiction (two novels and a story collection), but I’ve written a great deal of creative non-fiction, especially memoir … Continue reading >>

The Heart of Storytelling

June 17, 2019 By Linda K Sienkiewicz

These fabulous "rules" (I prefer to call them writing tips) for storytelling were handed out at a recent conference, with credit to Pixar Story Artist Emma Coats. I refer to them often, so I thought … Continue reading >>

Beyond the Easy Gestures in Fiction

September 10, 2018 By Linda K Sienkiewicz

Oh, those flashing eyes! The other day, I laughed when I read the recent tweet of a fellow writer: “There's a lot of 'flashing eyes' in this draft. Need to fix.” Our fictional characters … Continue reading >>

Linda K Sienkiewicz

Writing life, line by line