If ever I am asked which I would choose to be without in my life, books or music, it’d be a close call (although for the record, I’d keep books in my life over music!).
I’ve always thought music and literature were closely linked. I might even go so far as to suggest they’re lovers. Music, at least the kind with lyrics (and a strong case could be made for instrumental music as well), is really about stories. A song is a story. A song is about people or characters and what happens to them. Sound familiar?
A dream come true.
From the first word we ever typed, penned, or scribbled, all of us who have written anything have always dreamed of one day seeing our work published.
And that’s what happened this week for The Ascribe Writers: the book launch of the first anthology of our short stories, Beneath the Surface: A Collection of Grey-Bruce Stories. Read more
Married to My Novel
I’m not sure where, but I’ve heard this before: A poem is an affair, a short-story is a relationship and a novel is a marriage. I couldn’t agree more. I’m always amazed so many people write novels considering the time and commitment it takes. And even when we think one novel is done and we’re ready to move on to the next, we may still be revisiting the old novel, working on other projects all while we try and get something going on the new novel.
I’ve been “between” novels for a couple years now. That doesn’t mean I’m not writing, just that I’m not firmly planted in one project or another. Not to mention things come up, other things to be written. I tried my hand at a non-fiction essay, something I hadn’t done in a number of years. I wrote small “story-starters” for the Ontario Writers’ Conference, I wrote blogs, and I wrote letters, lots of them. Read more
Grey-Bruce Story Collection Hits Shelves Soon
The Ascribe Writers are pleased to announce the publication of their first collection of writing by our members entitled Beneath the Surface: A Collection of Grey-Bruce Stories.
Within the pages of this anthology, you will find short stories with subject matters that will appeal to almost everyone: history, romance, fantasy, science fiction, animals, relationships, parenthood, holiday celebrations, antique cars, aging, murder, gardening, werewolves, dragons, health, religion and more.
This book features 14 stories from nine local contributors; all stories varying in different writing styles, genres and topics, as well as several time periods (historical, contemporary and futuristic). In addition to the short stories, the collection includes a foreward by Andrew Armitage, a local author, historian and former librarian who believes in preserving stories about the Grey-Bruce area that would be lost to us, if we didn’t write them down and share with others.
Here is a sneak peek at what is inside this new collection of stories: Read more
It’s Not That Easy!
I’ve heard it a few times, but mostly from people repeating what they’ve heard other people say. And for the longest while, I thought it to be true.
It’s one of those things that people just hear and accept. Usually those things either seems logical, or they’re so far fetched that someone would have to be crazy to repeat them if they weren’t true, therefore, they must be true.
But sometimes the truth is obscured by the repetition of falsehoods to the point of those falsehoods becoming pseudo-facts.
The one I’m talking about is that oft repeated rule of writing, “write what you know.” Read more
GOYA
I recently bought a pottery cup with the word “goya” written on it by a local artist. “Goya” is an Urdu word and has been described as an “untranslatable” word. Roughly, it can mean the “transporting suspension of disbelief that can occur in good story telling.”
This tiny word captures what I seek in my writing: to have a reader become enchanted by my story and feel transported into another world. This is the ultimate in literary escapism and all without drugs.
The Scary Synopsis
On this morning of Hallowe’en, it seems appropriate to write about something scary. The synopsis! If you’re like me, writing a synopsis for your novel is a frightening task. Just staring at that blank screen makes my neck hair bristle.
The synopsis is a one or two page summary of your novel that is submitted to a literary agent. Some agents require a summary in the form of condensed chapters. How much detail do they want to know? How does your story begin? How does it end? What are the plot twists, and who are the characters? Where does it take place?
Let’s shine a flashlight on the synopsis so we know exactly what we’re dealing with. Read more
A Literary Flashback Health Checklist
Early in my writing career, I was telling instead of showing. Recently, I discovered I’ve been showing through repetitive flashbacks and my writing has become predictable, often times reading like the chapters of a Biology textbook. Although my writing has a veterinary medical background, when I’m creating fiction, I need to alter my style to be sure my flashbacks serve their story telling purpose.
I’ve researched how to conduct a health check on my flashbacks to ensure they fulfill their purpose of delivering backstory, highlighting a character’s motivations or adding context and meaning.
When flashbacks are done well, they add depth and emotional resonance. Done poorly, the reader can become confused, bored or disengaged with your story. Read more