new posts in all blogs
Viewing: Blog Posts Tagged with: Writing Prompts, Most Recent at Top [Help]
Results 1 - 25 of 87
How to use this Page
You are viewing the most recent posts tagged with the words: Writing Prompts in the JacketFlap blog reader. What is a tag? Think of a tag as a keyword or category label. Tags can both help you find posts on JacketFlap.com as well as provide an easy way for you to "remember" and classify posts for later recall. Try adding a tag yourself by clicking "Add a tag" below a post's header. Scroll down through the list of Recent Posts in the left column and click on a post title that sounds interesting. You can view all posts from a specific blog by clicking the Blog name in the right column, or you can click a 'More Posts from this Blog' link in any individual post.
By:
Betsy Bird,
on 10/24/2016
Blog:
A Fuse #8 Production
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
James Marshall,
Moomin,
writing prompts,
Christian children's books,
Arnold Lobel,
Migy,
Sergio Ruzzier,
Harold and the Purple Crayon,
Fusenews,
Me stuff,
coffee art,
Evanston stuff,
Phil Nel,
Add a tag
Good morning! I’d like to begin today by thanking the good people of Foundation 65 for allowing me to moderate a panel discussion last night with Duncan Tonatiuh, Grace Lin, Matt de la Pena, Janice Harrington, and Steve Sheinkin. Foundation 65 has created this cool program where these authors are visiting every single child in the Evanston, IL public school system this week. I helped kick it off, which was lovely. In this image you’ll see me in a rare moment of not lolling all over the podium (there was no seat high enough for me to sit on, and my heels were killing me).
Travis just offered a fascinating look at the recently released Follett statistics of what children around the country are checking out. It’s simultaneously unsurprising and disheartening. If you’re into that feeling, check the list out here.
Gotta hand it to Bookriot. When they came up with a list of 9 Kids Books That Should Be In Print, they did their due diligence. No mention of Hey, Pizza Man, but otherwise impeccable. I have a copy of Trouble for Trumpets of my very own, so I can attest to its awesomeness, and The Church Mouse should definitely find a new audience. Well written, Danika Ellis.
Two Harold and the Purple Crayon related posts appeared around the same time last week. The first was from The Ugly Volvo (a.k.a. my replacement for The Toast) called Harold’s Mother and the Purple Crayon. The other was Phil Nel’s piece How to Read Harold in which he reveals the possible subject of his next book. There are also some pretty keen links at the end. Go to it!
This one’s neat. Middle school teachers Julie Sternberg and Marcie Colleen have collected short audio clips in which storytellers share memories from their childhood. They write,
“For each memory, we propose writing prompts for students as well as questions for classroom discussion. Topics range from moments when storytellers have experienced bullying or been bullies themselves; to the first time they remember doing something they knew to be wrong; to difficulties in their home lives; to the effects of keeping secrets. We hope each story helps kids think through issues that can be difficult to address but impossible to avoid.”
The site is called Play Me a Memory and contributors include everyone from Sarah Weeks and Kat Yeh to Michael Buckley and Matthew Cordell. If you’re looking for writing prompts to share with kids, this site may prove inspirational.
This is neat:
It’s like fanart for a really recent picture book. Cool stuff, Migy.
I know Dana Sheridan says that artist Aliisa Lee’s illustrations of classic folktale characters are “manga characters”, but I think the adaptations go a bit further. These creations look particularly Pokemon-esque. I could see me capturing one in a public space. Couldn’t you?
Now for a double shot of espresso/adorableness:
Thanks to Marjorie Ingall for the link.
I outsource some of my knowledge of children’s literature to those better suited than I. For example, if you were to ask me what the best Christian books series out there might be, I’d probably hem and haw and then excuse myself to the ladies room where I would attempt to climb out the window. Author/illustrator Aaron Zenz, however, knows his stuff. Recently he said that the best series is Adam Raccoon and that the books are now officially back-in-print. FYI, Christian reader type folks!
Just the loveliest piece was written recently at the Horn Book by Sergio Ruzzier about his time looking at the work of Arnold Lobel and James Marshall at the Kerlan Collection. And though I might take issue with the idea that Marshall’s humans were less charming than his animals, the piece is an utterly fascinating look at the process of the two men.
Daily Image:
And for our last image of the day, we turn once again to good old upcoming Halloween:
Reminds me of the time I went to the Dan Quayle Museum and saw the Fabergé Egg that showed him being sworn in as VP (<— all that I just said is true). Thanks to Marci for the link.
Our students spend their time in choice-based, unit-driven writing workshops. They are not accustomed to writing to a prompt.
You’ve invited all your family members to celebrate Christmas at your house. Unfortunately, they all decline with different excuses, which seems highly unusual as you normally spend the holidays together. On Christmas day you decide to drop their gifts off at their houses. When you arrive at the first house, though, you see them all in there celebrating without you. What do you do? Write this scene.
Want more creative writing prompts?
Pick up a copy of A Year of Writing Prompts: 365 Story Ideas for Honing Your Craft and Eliminating Writer’s Block. There’s a prompt for every day of the year and you can start on any day.
Order now from our shop.
It sneaks up on you in the darkling hours of the night, or in the steamy shower, or in the mindless drone of commuting or chauffeuring a carload of kids kicking the back of your seat.
The idea. The brilliantly shiny idea that won't stop poking you and saying 'Write Me.'
You fall hard in lust. You can't sleep. You can't eat. You can't stop thinking about it.
But then.
It grinds to a screeching halt . . . Somewhere, you stall, and writing becomes a chore that makes your brain hurt. (Yes, that's actually a thing. You can overstrain your brain.)
How do you get to the point where you remember the pure, sheer joy you felt when you started on that idea?
Turn things upside down and approach your manuscript from a different direction. Here are five ways you can do just that.
1. Reconnect with Your Characters via Writing Prompts.
Some of my favorites include picking a particular character and continuing from the following beginning, with the added condition that whatever your character writes has to relate to another character.
I love when . . .
I hate when . . .
My greatest fear at this moment is . . .
My greatest hope at this moment is . . .
I would be humiliated if . . .
I could achieve my goal if . . .
2. Write the Jacket Copy
Write a kickass jacket description for the book, and if you find yourself tempted to fudge something to make it clearer, or sexier, or more exciting? Go back and write THAT story instead. Chances are, your subconscious is already fixing your story for you and all you have to do is listen.
3. Do the Meet and Greet Mashup
Picture yourself in a room with a bunch of twenty-something film execs. How do they describe your book to each other? Compulsion has been described as everything from Beautiful Creatures meets The Body Finder and Gone with the Wind meets Romeo and Juliet to In the Midnight Garden of Good and Evil meets The Sixth Sense. Thinking about what makes someone describe it that way, and thinking how else I could describe it, is not just a hoot, it's a little bit of instant brainstorming that takes my head in whole new directions.
4. Write the 1 Star Review of Your Book
Pretend you're one of the notorious Goodreads slasher/bullies. Don't think. Don't censor yourself. What things could you say that are so horrible they are funny? And once you've written them, how would you go about not just eliminating the potential for someone to say that, how would you turn that criticism into a strength?
5. Write the 5 Star Review of Your Book
Imagine you are the most enthusiastic fan on the planet. What would you write about your book? The gushiest of gushes, the ravest of raves. Give yourself ALL the pats on the back. Are you feeling the love yet? Now go write a scene that involves the thing you love most.
Figuring Out What Your Subconscious Is Trying To Tell You
The bottom line is that when you lose the joy in your manuscript, it's not usually because there's something wrong with you. Nor is there something irreparable going on with your manuscript. Untangling what's going on is usually something like finding the end of a skein of yarn. Once you find the end of the thread, its relatively easy to unwind it smoothly. But if you pull on it from the wrong spot, you just end up with a distorted mess.
A Happy Brain is a Creative Brain
I don't know about you, but my brain is happiest when creating. That's when I'm energized and I can't stop gushing about what I'm working on.
When I've lost the passion for a project, staring at the computer or going back over pages I've already written is rarely the best solution. I need a fresh perspective.
What about You?
Do you have techniques that have gotten you back on track when you feel like you're ready to shove that project in a drawer?
September Giveaways!
The count-down is starting.
Compulsion is less than two months away, so I've got a huge giveaway planned for next month, and you can already get in on the action by going to
CompulsionToRead.com.
But in the meantime . . . : )
I've got a signed set of Veronica Rossi's complete, and completely gorgeous,
Under the Never Sky trilogy, plus an ARC of
Compulsion plus a Tiffany-style key necklace like Barrie wears.
Also. there are four Pick Any YA Giveaways, complete with assorted interviews, excerpts, tidbits, and one of my favorite reviews EVER.
You can find those here:
Stop by each of those blogs to enter--you'll get an extra entry for the Grand Prize giveaway below for each location you enter, too!
Good luck! : )
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Generating good, usable ideas can be difficult for any writer, new or established. While John Steinbeck may have been exempt (he famously compared ideas to rabbits, saying “You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.”), we are not all on Steinbeck’s level. To those of you who can come up with something new and interesting at will, I commend you. For the rest of us, here are 31 prompts for the month of August.
Interpret these in whatever way works best for you. Do each one, or two per week, or five per month, or any number that feels productive for you. If you’d like to, share your links or short-short stories in the comments.
1. You have two characters. One is trying to convince the other that he is telling the truth, but the second character knows the first character is lying. How does this scene play out?
2. Write a short story in which a pill is an object of importance.
3. Tell a story using only letters your characters have written to each other.
4. Use these words: spider, lump, magazine, bread box, asbestos.
5. Sylvia Plath once write that “everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it.” Use your outgoing guts to tell a difficult story.
6. A local woman has just had her first baby. She is on the news because her baby is __________. Fill in the blank and then tell this story.
7. Your first line is: “In this town, everyone is named after an object.”
8. You’ve inherited enough money to retire. What do you do now?
9. A group of friends are walking down the street. They see something unexpected.
10. Your new neighbor introduces himself as La Bamba Flambeau. He is a mild-mannered, middle-aged man.
11. Fill in the blanks to create a piece of dialogue; then, use the dialogue in a short story: “If it weren’t for _________, I would never have _________.”
12. Your character wakes up very late. He thinks it is Monday, but it is only Sunday.
13. Write an optimistic character who is placed in a hopeless, unfixable situation.
14. Two characters discuss their hobbies. Neither is comfortable being friends afterward.
15. Use these words: frenetic, business card, notepad, bagel, walrus.
16. It is 10 years in the future. Write a scene about your character’s everyday life.
17. A poet is in his car when he realizes the lyrics of the song on the radio match the piece he wrote last night.
18. Winston Churchill said “History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.” Write a kind history for a no good, very bad character.
19. A spaceship has landed safely in the Pacific Ocean and the beings that step out look exactly like all humans… except for one disturbing difference.
20. 100 years ago, medical science eradicated all virulent disease. What is the world like now?
21. In this scene, a phone call derails a quiet dinner at home.
22. You’re a contestant on Jeopardy! Write the scene in which you win the game. Include the topic, answer and question.
23. Write a short story in which a painting is an object of importance.
24. Your theme: Nothing is free.
25. Your character must mail something today, but the universe is conspiring against his success.
26. Use these words: tin, monkey wrench, banner, water damage, award.
27. Your character did something embarrassing in college that her family does not know about. What happens when her teenage daughter finds out years later? When her husband finds out? When the local gossip hears about it?
28. A character is caught stealing. a) Make your reader feel sorry for the thief. b) Make your reader angry at the victim.
29. “This is not what I ordered. It’s moving.”
30. Today is someone’s birthday, but you forgot until just now. This person is very important to you.
31. Write a survival story.
Adrienne Crezo is the managing editor of Writer’s Digest magazine. Follow her on Twitter at @a_crezo.
Image by ppdigital via morguefile.
How would YOU save our planet?With Earth Day fresh in our brains, we thought it was the perfect time to feature a question posted by AquaCat586.
“If you could do one thing to help the planet or humankind as a whole, what would it be? Or if you could invent one thing that would forward the advancement of human civilization, what would it be?”
It could be something real, or something you dream up, something small, or something on a large scale. The sky is the limit! What would you do to help the planet or advance civilization? Let us know in the Comments below!
To talk about more ways to save the earth, go to the Save the Planet Message Board
and meet lots of environmental crusaders.
— Ratha, Stacks Writer
At WordPress.com our raison d’être is to do everything we can to help you make your blog the very best it can be. Over at The Daily Post we’ve got daily writing prompts to give your muse a friendly nudge, we publish articles on how to grow your traffic and community, as well as tips and advice on how to take great photos, no matter which gear you choose.
We’ve compiled a ton of great material into three new ebooks, made with love, for you. And, they’re free. They come in three fetching formats so we’ve got you covered no matter whether .pdf, .epub (iBooks), or .mobi (Kindle) is your jam.
365 Writing Prompts
So you want to write but you have trouble getting started? Writers’ block a perpetual, unwelcome guest? With 365 Writing Prompts we’ve got a different writing prompt to jumpstart your muse each and every day of the year. Looking for more writing inspiration and practice? Be sure to check out our weekly writing challenges.
Photography 101
Chock-full of inspiration, technical tips, and practical ideas you can apply right away, Photography 101: The basics of photography and the power of visual storytelling will help you take and make beautiful photographs and school you on post-processing so that your work can shine, no matter whether you’ve got a monster-sized DSLR or a trusty cameraphone in your pocket. If you’d like more practice with your camera, c’mon over to The Daily Post and participate in our weekly photo challenges. We provide the theme each week, you interpret it with your camera as you see fit.
Grow Your Traffic, Build Your Blog
Most of us write, shoot, and blog for the love of it, though it’s always a great feeling to get a Like or a comment, or participate in a great conversation with someone who shares your interests. If you’d like to attract more traffic and nurture a community around your site, take Grow Your Traffic, Build Your Blog: Tips and Tricks for the Tenacious Blogger for a spin.
Filed under:
Better Blogging,
Community 
Writing prompts and I mix about as well as oil and water. I don’t want to do pointless exercises. Translation: if it doesn’t add words to my work-in-progress it is pointless.
When I received my copy of
The Plot Whisperer Book of Writing Prompts, I was skeptical. As much as I adore Martha Alderson’s
Youtube videos, I just didn’t see how a book of prompts could get me moving.
Fortunately, Alderson has anticipated this kind of reaction. “While following the plot prompts in this book, no stream of consciousness writing is allowed, unless it applies directly to the advancement of the plot of your story.”
Alderson designed her book with 120 prompts divided equally among 4 sections—The Beginning, The Halfway Point, The Crisis, and the Climax and Conclusion. Let’s say you’ve already worked up the beginning of your novel. Now you’re floundering in the middle. Turn to that section. Seem to have lost all steam as you reach the Crisis? Again, turn to that section in the book.
Each prompt is actually a grouping—an affirmation, a plot prompt and a writing prompt. The affirmation is a “you go” section to help prime the pumps. Next comes the plot prompt which reminds you what you should be considering right now in terms of story development. It might have something to do with your character’s goals or the setting or even the antagonist. Last but not least is the actual writing prompt with instructions for a scene in your story.
The wondrous thing about these prompts is that they are designed to be helpful no matter what kind of story you a writing. Mine is a middle grade fantasy. Not an adult novel. Not a screen play. Not a mystery. Yet, the prompts that got me going could be used in each of these kinds of writing.
The first prompt was to write a scene in which your protagonist takes a step to achieve his goal. My character took such a step, and I pulled down 1200 words. The next day I used a prompt about setting. I always know where my stories take place but the details are hard pressed to make it into the manuscript. This prompt enabled me to move my plot along and set the story more firmly in my fantasy world, and I compiled another 1000 words.
Unlike many other programs, Alderson asks you to come up with your own goal. Planning to write a screenplay? Or a novel? See how long a comparable work is, then divide that number by 30. Write this number of words daily for 30 days and you will have a completed draft. All you need to get yourself moving are the prompts in this book. How do I know? 2200 words in two days and counting. Not bad for someone who can’t stand writing prompts.
Find out more about Sue's writing on her blog, One Writer's Journey.*****
GIVEAWAY: THE PLOT WHISPERER BOOK OF WRITING PROMPTS
We also have
five copies of the book to give away, courtesy of the author, Martha Alderson! After that excellent review, I'm sure you'll want to win a copy for your writer's reference library. Just enter the Rafflecopter form below for a chance to win a paperback copy of
The Plot Whisperer Book of Writing Prompts (ARV $14.95), or a e-copy—reader's choice! The contest is open to US and Canada for a print copy, and internationally for an e-copy. If you have problems using Rafflecopter, be sure you are running the latest version of your web browser and have javascript updated.
a Rafflecopter giveawayGood luck!
Imagine a scrapbook of questions about writing, as well as inspiring quotes about writing, and prompts to serve as catalysts for writing, and you have Lynda Barry’s What It Is, a remarkable writer’s resource to help you explore your imagination and get your words on the page.
The format and design of the book, which is filled with 200 pages of drawings, post-it-like notes, cartoons,
You’ve agreed to give a talk at your child’s school for Career Day. Not only do you hate public speaking, you found out yesterday that you’ve been fired from your job—and you haven’t told your kid yet. Write what happens when you go to the school to present.
Post your response (500 words or fewer) in the comments below.
Want more creative writing prompts? Consider:
The Writer’s Book of Matches
You receive a letter at your workplace from a high school classmate, who is now in prison. “I know I’ve caused you a lot of grief,” the letter says, “but there’s something I need that only you can get for me. Don’t tell anyone about this.”
Post your response (500 words or fewer) in the comments below.
Want more creative writing prompts? Consider:
The Writer’s Book of Matches
By:
Claudette Young,
on 7/5/2012
Blog:
Claudsy's Blog
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
Dune,
Uncategorized,
Art,
fiction,
Wikipedia,
Flash fiction,
Short story,
Friday,
Writing prompts,
Shai-Hulud,
Add a tag
Flash Fiction Prompt
Each day a lovely little website referred to as Flashy Fiction offers a writing prompt to a photo. Today’s prompt was a two-fer because it’s been combined with Friday’s prompt.
I had to do one for today. The opportunity was too good and the prompt too right-up-my-alley. So, this is what I wrote for the photo above. I hope you enjoy it. And please, stop by to see all the offerings on Flashy Fiction. You’ll be glad you did.
The Light of Meaning
Within me grows a tension I cannot place. What could cause this sensation of impending destiny, which perches like a vulture just out of visual range? Does my breath come short and quick because of unexpected claustrophobia at the looks of this canyon before me?
My friends don’t seem to notice how silence surrounds this place, how the scent of dust carries with it a hint of the ancient. Their shouts fall short of my space, leaving me in a personal bell jar inside these striped red walls.
Illusions of undulating Dune’s Shai-Hulud flash across my mind. I wonder if this was how Paul felt the first time he waited for that beast to rise from the desert floor. Would there be such a ritual for me to perform for the coming secret to reveal itself? And how do I know there is a secret?
Footsteps echo. Shock sweeps through me. I recognize them as my own, though I don’t recall moving into the inner recesses of a side chamber. Dim illumination draws me forward, faster as hesitation drops away. I must know this thing that would be.
Twists and turns, dried water channels of exquisite sandstone, bring me, at last, to the chamber. I burst forth from the passage, panting in excitement and terror. Finally, I see what has haunted my vague dreams for longer than memory reaches. It waits; one glorious beam of pure light.
Within that circle of illumination is the future I’ve tried to escape from and now run to in a sprint of desperation. Could my heart beat any harder and remain caged within my body? Could my responding body contain so much light?
A jerk, like that of a tether drawn forward suddenly, pulls me into the beam of sunlight that squeezes through a tiny overhead opening. My head arches back. My chest swells and rises, as if I’m a mere marionette and someone has yanked my string upward. My mind is filled with music, sweet and gentle, as it ebbs and surges through the channels of my soul.
Home comes calling. I have been away longer than I can imagine right now. My mind registers the knowledge of a previous, though, different life elsewhere; a knowledge that explains so much that has confused me during this life.
The music and light fill me with the purpose I’ve been seeking. All is clear now. I have come this far to learn that only one act of mine is necessary for my life to have meaning for this world; to learn that with that act, I have completed my purpose here and can go home again.
Is there any better bliss than such sure knowledge?
Satire on false perspective, showing all of the common mistakes artists make in perspective, by Hogarth, 1753 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
People talk about attitudes every day. The subject is always revealing. This morning I came up against it yet again, but in a different way. Let me explain.
I was brushing my teeth a while ago when I heard the toilet flush. Ours is a split bath with the lavatory separate from tub and toilet. I was startled because I’d not noticed Sister moving past me, either going or coming back.
I immediately inquired if she’d done so, to which she said, “Of course!”
Color me surprised. I replied, “I must have been really focused, since I didn’t notice you walking past me.”
Her response was, “Oblivious would be a good choice of word, too.”
I’ll tell you what I told her. “I choose to take a positive stance on this one, rather than see it as negative.”
This whole exchange may sound silly, but it addresses an everyday choice we make as humans. I prefer to think of the episode as “being focused.” The opposite take is “being oblivious.” I was focused on what I was doing and what I was thinking at the time; which just happened to be what I was going to write for this blog post today.
Sister considered it as less aware. One the one hand, she’s correct. I was unaware of her presence behind me and of her proximate activity. From her perspective, what I was doing took little thought and, therefore, I should have noticed her movements.
At the same time, my perspective informs me of my concentrative ability to screen out irrelevant activity while working on the mental plane. This does not happen when I’m in unfamiliar terrain or in uncertain situations. I see it as indicative of how safe and secure I feel in my own home.
Different perspectives? Certainly. Different attitudes? Again, yes, though those attitudes are informed by expectations as well. My expectation was of safety in my home. Hers revolved around momentary awareness of my surroundings.
When we move around our world, we carry expectations, and perspectives based on them, with us and draw conclusions from those factors. Whether those conclusions are viewed as correct are, for wont of another explanation, dependent on how other individuals interpret those conclusions.
The behavior of the world’s populace is based on these factors. Until consensus of perspective arises, there can be little hope for consensus of behavior. At least, that’s how I see it.
If one small action—my brushing my teeth and not noticing someone move behind me—creates a schism between positive and negative interpretation, how much more dramatic are divisions surrounding vast actions?
Give me your thoughts on this question. How do you see perspective and its role in the daily behavior of those two-legged creatures called humans? Leave a comment below and join the discussion.
Until then, a bientot,
Claudsy
Satire on false perspective, showing all of the common mistakes artists make in perspective, by Hogarth, 1753 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
People talk about attitudes every day. The subject is always revealing. This morning I came up against it yet again, but in a different way. Let me explain.
I was brushing my teeth a while ago when I heard the toilet flush. Ours is a split bath with the lavatory separate from tub and toilet. I was startled because I’d not noticed Sister moving past me, either going or coming back.
I immediately inquired if she’d done so, to which she said, “Of course!”
Color me surprised. I replied, “I must have been really focused, since I didn’t notice you walking past me.”
Her response was, “Oblivious would be a good choice of word, too.”
I’ll tell you what I told her. “I choose to take a positive stance on this one, rather than see it as negative.”
This whole exchange may sound silly, but it addresses an everyday choice we make as humans. I prefer to think of the episode as “being focused.” The opposite take is “being oblivious.” I was focused on what I was doing and what I was thinking at the time; which just happened to be what I was going to write for this blog post today.
Sister considered it as less aware. One the one hand, she’s correct. I was unaware of her presence behind me and of her proximate activity. From her perspective, what I was doing took little thought and, therefore, I should have noticed her movements.
At the same time, my perspective informs me of my concentrative ability to screen out irrelevant activity while working on the mental plane. This does not happen when I’m in unfamiliar terrain or in uncertain situations. I see it as indicative of how safe and secure I feel in my own home.
Different perspectives? Certainly. Different attitudes? Again, yes, though those attitudes are informed by expectations as well. My expectation was of safety in my home. Hers revolved around momentary awareness of my surroundings.
When we move around our world, we carry expectations, and perspectives based on them, with us and draw conclusions from those factors. Whether those conclusions are viewed as correct are, for wont of another explanation, dependent on how other individuals interpret those conclusions.
The behavior of the world’s populace is based on these factors. Until consensus of perspective arises, there can be little hope for consensus of behavior. At least, that’s how I see it.
If one small action—my brushing my teeth and not noticing someone move behind me—creates a schism between positive and negative interpretation, how much more dramatic are divisions surrounding vast actions?
Give me your thoughts on this question. How do you see perspective and its role in the daily behavior of those two-legged creatures called humans? Leave a comment below and join the discussion.
Until then, a bientot,
Claudsy
by Scott Rhoades
If you're a writer, you know how popular you are at cocktail parties because of the vast stores of knowledge in your head. You also know how much mail and e-mail you receive from people seeking enlightenment.
You also know that the above paragraph describes one of your fictional worlds.
In reality, you know all this stuff, or have read interesting information, and you wish people would ask you the right questions, so you could share your knowledge. But you're holed up in your writing room, counting paddle ball hits while you avoid writing, so nobody ever does.
One of the great influences on my own writing, a brilliant columnist for the local paper where I grew up, the late Ray Orrock (that's his picture over there), used to occasionally write columns full of answers to questions he wished people would ask. I'm going to borrow a page from his legendary act.
So here, now, are some insightful answers to questions I'll never be asked, from my mailbag that's always empty.
Dear Mr. Roach: Love your blog and read it at least a couple times a year. Here's my question. My writer's group always says my stories need more emotion, but where I come from, we hide our feelings. I'm not even sure what emotion is. Where can I learn more about emotions? --Bob, from La Verkin.
Dear Bob from La Verkin, I'm glad you asked. I recently found a web page (you do have Internet down there in La Verkin, I trust) that discusses several emotion models, and how different emotions relate to each other. Although good writers don't actually name the emotions their characters are feeling, it's good to know which emotions are available to them. http://www.deepermind.com/02clarty.htm is a good place to start.
Hey, Rotz-Dawg, I have a question por voo, see voo play. I want to write a book and I have lots of idea, but I can never seem to get started. Do you have any suggestions? -- Stan the Man from LeVan.
Dear the Man, you are not alone. Most people with an idea for a novel or story never start. But I'll assume your problem is that you're just not sure how to to start, and not that you like the idea of writing better than actually doing it. The best thing to do is just start. The beginning of your story is the part that will probably be rewritten the most, so don't let a bad beginning stop you. Just get something down, and get going. Or, you could do as the good folks at The Writer Magazine suggest in this week's writing prompt, and begin at the end.
Mr. Rhoades, This letter is to inform you of a pending law suit--
Wait. How'd that one get in here? Next.
Dear Mr. Rose, You know all, so I thought I'd ask you before I asked anybody else. What is the future of publishing? P.S. Are you related to Pete Rose? Phyillis, from Flowell.
Dear Phyllis, if I were a betting man, I'd bet that I'm not related to Pete Rose, since we don't have the same last name. I'm Rhoades, not Rose. As for your question, there's lots of hand-wringing these days about the death of publis
.jpeg?picon=893)
So glad BUT NO ELEPHANTS by Jerry Smath made Bookriot’s list of books that should be in print. I thought I was the lone fan out there. Yes! Reprint! Reprint!
What? The Noisy Counting Book is not on the 9 Books list?
I know, right? It comes back in print, it goes out of print, and back and forth it goes.
And I lost our copy. (slaps self upside of the head)