Photo via Flickr by subcircle I wrote this piece several years ago, when I was an undergraduate at the University of Washington. At the time, my father had successfully beat back Leukemia and I wrote the below as a sort of ‘near-miss’ emotional exercise. In light of my father’s recent passing, this flashContinue reading “Horsemen”
Tag Archives: Non-Fiction
Say What You Mean – Dialogue (Part 1)
Moving ever so slightly away from the topic of character building, I wanted to take some time this week to discuss the creation and successful deployment of dialogue. In writing circles, I have found my feelings and approaches to dialogue to be somewhat unique. Many writers struggle continuously with putting words in the mouths ofContinue reading “Say What You Mean – Dialogue (Part 1)”
Turning Back the Clock: How Flashbacks Are Used in Literature (Part 2)
Tim O’Brien also uses time travel in his critically acclaimed novel, In the Lake of the Woods. What makes these journeys to the past so much easier to identify and pay attention to in O’Brien’s novel versus Miller’s play? The answer: format and point of view. In In the Lake of the Woods, scattered throughoutContinue reading “Turning Back the Clock: How Flashbacks Are Used in Literature (Part 2)”
Building a Character – Word by Word
A continuation of last week’s post (found here), on building a character that will stand the test of time, this week I’d like to talk about how you actually sit down and build a character one word at a time. Tip #2: The Devil’s in the Details (Write it Out!) As we discussed earlier, aContinue reading “Building a Character – Word by Word”
Building a Character – They’re Not Characters, but People
In the interest of variety, I thought it might do us all some good to forgo the usual inspiration post this week and talk instead about the writing process. Now I don’t pretend to be any kind of expert on writing fiction – I don’t think anyone is. Creative writing is a wild horse withoutContinue reading “Building a Character – They’re Not Characters, but People”