Another piece of advice coming out of the Book Passage writer's conference was to look at the first lines of books to see how they both draw the reader in and already begin telling what the story is really like. Here are a few powerful first lines that I have recently come across. "From the twisting, smoke-filled clouds, blood rained down." -from Steven Erikson's Midnight Tides "The summer … [Read more...]
Who’s the Audience?
One of the often repeated rules of writing is: Know your audience. The idea behind this seemingly simple piece of advice is that as a writer you have to understand who it is you are writing for and what their expectations are and, that once you know your audience, it will be easier to write for them. So in my case, this apparent audience is kids between seven and ten years old and their … [Read more...]
Train Wreck!
This past weekend, Book Passage's annual Children's Writers and Illustrators Conference was interrupted by a train wreck. But luckily by the end of the four days, I had pulled myself out of the mangled wreckage of twisted metal and burning compartments, dusted the ash from my sleeves, and put one shaky foot in front of the other, back on the path to where I want to be heading. Everything … [Read more...]
In Pursuit of Things of No Value
“The only thing that has less value in our society than reading is writing.” Bret Anthony Johnson, Director of Creative Writing at Harvard University To the average person, Mr. Johnson’s comment during a recent talk about his new book at Book Passage may have seemed more like an indictment on his own book and craft than a rallying point for those of us in the audience. But for those of us … [Read more...]
Strategies to Improve Creativity
Last week, I attended a talk by creativity coach Eric Maisel at Book Passage to hear him discuss his new book The Van Gogh Blues. I have not gone to any book readings for a long time, not since college, where there had been a steady flow of world class poets like Seamus Heaney and authors like Ron Hansen at my door step. Mr. Maisel, who has combined his experience as a counselor with his … [Read more...]
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