Thoughts about writing, and the universe.
On the first of May this year, Labor Day in Norway and around much of the world, the first-year class took its annual hike up the local mountain, Jarstadheia. The hike took us up 584 meters into thick snow--more than a foot along the top plateau. We formed a winding column of sixty or seventy... Continue Reading →
Some stories seem to move more slowly than drying paint. They elongate scene after scene of a bland character sitting, contemplating, staring at walls. Whole novels can go by without the character doing much more than taking a sip of their watered-down beer as they contemplate the vagaries of their universes. How often do I... Continue Reading →
Many times I have heard writers talk about a character seeming to lift up off the page, feel real enough that they start telling their own story. Writers say, "The story writes itself. The character told me what they'd do." If I'm honest, most times when I hear these things I roll my eyes. I... Continue Reading →
I'm forever more a planner when I write. Perhaps not down to the minute detail, and certainly my plans change as I go along, but I like to have a basic outline of plot events and thematic points that I expect the story to take up. I make long documents for planning, pages and paragraphs... Continue Reading →
Just shy of a month ago, I sat down and set myself a few writing goals. I set a goal for word count and a goal for submissions. A perhaps foolhardy goal for publications too I set. During January, I chipped away at these. Let's make an update of where things stand. I'll share some... Continue Reading →
In late October, I set myself a writing goal of 12,000 words, which is certainly more than I had written in quite some time before that. As November has marched on, I have chipped away dependably. Setting this goal really had an impact on my volume. We're entering the final week of term, and the... Continue Reading →
When a story gets stuck, I try to see it as an invitation. Amid the frustration, I seek what I have missed. What central element have I bypassed in this story that makes it tick slower, slower, slow until it halts? Often for me, the culprit is the undeveloped character. I plan the story and... Continue Reading →
This week's post is part of the monthly Author Toolbox Blog Hop. Check out other participants' posts here. The #AuthorToolboxBlogHop is a great way to connect with other writers and build our own repertoire of craft knowledge alongside. Check it out! A wonderful professor of mine, Deborah Appleman, once told me that life is a... Continue Reading →
In Twitter's #WritingCommunity, the discussion of plotting and pantsing our stories is a common thread. Plotting, the careful outlining of a story before writing, and pantsing, the seat-of-our-pants, unplanned, accepting-what-comes creation of a story, each draws a crowd of strong adherents. Out foraging for mushrooms this week, we came across this beautiful chanterelle, late for... Continue Reading →
In between novel revisions this winter and spring, I've been working on a few short stories. The more compressed, quicker course of developing and honing these has helped me think about the process and purpose of telling stories, and today I'll share some of what I am learning. Likewise, I would love to hear your... Continue Reading →
Words like trees 