creative writing | creative life
I don't know about you, but as a kid I loved playing dress-ups. I was always parading around in the weirdest combos. Sometimes I wanted to look like Jeanie in I Dream of Jeanie. Another time I remember trying to look like a crone. I put talcum powder in my hair, donned some wire spectacles, draped myself in a black …
Continue reading "What are your characters wearing? It matters!"
Nifty tips. Everyone wants them. Ten Tips for Honing Voice. Seven Steps to Quirky Characters. Three Ways to Ensure your Lipstick Never Moves while Public Speaking. (Actually, I should write that last one. I’ve got it covered). Tips about creative writing abound and for those of us in the trade they’re fairly easy to knock …
Continue reading "My Random Writing Routine. Or, How To Bumble Your Way to Success."
1/ Make writing a high priority. Never jam writing time into your day. Jam your day into your writing time. 2/ Write while you're fresh. Run errands when you're flagging. Errands rarely require much brain power. Remember, writing is High Priority. You don't want a gravestone that says, 'She ran countless errands.' 3/ Have …
If you scroll down or if you go clickety-click here you'll see that a while ago I scribbled a post about the Three Ps of Creative Writing. I also spoke about those Ps on a podcast with Allison Tait. (She's the bomb by the way. People dig those podcasts so much. Check them out. Later. Once you've …
Continue reading "Oh, yeah. Passion. How to keep the lurve alive."
Hello dearest duckettes! I've found that as we work on our craft we need to hear the good stuff over and over. Have it presented to us in different ways, from different angles and perspectives. What didn't stick last week, might stick this week. As we paddle along together I'll often repeat myself. But I'll do it …
Here at Duck Pond headquarters (aka The Palace) I've been thinking about narrative arcs. Story arcs. Those things what you hang a story on... They're pesky, aren't they? Exposition Rising action Climax Falling action Resolution They are supposed to look like this: But more often they look like this: My friend (who writes superb fiction) refers …
Today in my morning pages I had an ah-ha moment. Man, it was a long time coming. Sometimes I'm astonished by how blinkered I can be. But once I had the realisation, I thought, I have to share this with the duckies! And while we're at it, for those of you who haven't heard me quack about morning pages …
Continue reading "Right story, wrong format. Why it’s important to be true to the story."
Sit up straight. Eyes and ears facing forward, please. The teacher is IN. The following is a list of basic literary devices. Literary devices? I know! It sounds impressive. Sorry if you feel like you're back at school. But sometimes we forget about this stuff and I do think it's worth revisiting. You could also think …
Continue reading "Ten literary devices. Or how to zhoosh up your creative writing."
‘Narnia! It’s all in the wardrobe, just like I told you!’ As hard as it is to believe, the first girl & duck creative writing course is now over. I will blog about it and celebrate its little triumphs over on Baxter Street soon. But this here is my serious site. Ahem. This site is …
Hello ducksters! This week in class we looked at character. It's a HUGE topic. Everyone had loads to say, especially me. I didn't get through half the material I wanted to cover. I didn't even have time to eat a cupcake. And there were cupcakes. And mini muffins. Lemon butter biscuits. Homemade banana bread. Hold on. What I mean to say …
Continue reading "Sing, fish, sing! Creating quirky characters in fiction"
