Tag: Novel writing

Transitions

Diane Ferguson 1 Comment

“Transition: (a) a passage or change from one place, state, condition etc. to another; (b) passage in thought, speech, or writing, from one subject to another. ” (From the Canadian Oxford Dictionary.)

If we’re lucky and kind to ourselves, we will live long lives. And in that life time we will be different people, wear different hats, be different ages. Some will change more than others, but we will all change to some degree. When we take that same concept to our writing, we’re talking about the character arc. How does the character change over the course of the novel?

(There are stories where the protagonist doesn’t change, but I don’t particularly like those stories.)

All stories have characters, but I love stories where the main focus is the character development and plot is secondary. I’m interested in people: how they live, how they feel, how they function, how they survive. They say that fiction is the art that comes closest to representing human consciousness. I want to know what goes on inside people’s heads.

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Do you have enough space for creative thought?

Seana Moorhead 2 Comments

From Pixabay, StockSnap

I caught three minutes of a radio documentary exploring the concept that to foster creativity, a person needs both time space and physical space. The time space seems obvious – the freedom to allow a mind to wander and explore— would help any creative spirit. Who doesn’t need more time to allow themself to write, paint or basketweave with pine needles?

But in the few minutes I heard of the documentary, it also discussed the idea that a person would be more creative working in an open air or high vaulted room. Is this true?

Time for research!

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A Year in the Life of a Writer

Diane Ferguson 4 Comments

It’s been over a year since I’ve done a blog post. I was taking a break to focus on my ONE writing priority: FINISHING MY NOVEL. It’s been a long project since I was learning how to write while I raised a family, worked, and tried to keep up with our house. My struggle is every artist’s struggle: How to keep creating when life is overwhelming you. (Unless of course you have a fabulous patron and you’re living in some historic castle writing away while dragons play outside.) But for the rest of us, here’s my story on how I kept to my goals when life was super challenging. And the tips, techniques and resources I used to keep myself on track even when life was busy making other plans for me.

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The Weird Brother, Onomatopoeia

Seana Moorhead Leave a comment
Picture from Pixabay, SashaNebesuyk
I don’t think he got the same advice as I did about running in zig zag patterns

When being chased by a rhino, you should run in a zig-zag pattern. The wildlife guide in Nepal provided this advice to me. Zig-Zag is probably my favourite onomatopoeia word. The very sound of “zig” and “zag” suggests its meaning. I was “almost chased” by a rhino three times— still don’t know if it was a set up for an extra tip by the guide— and yes, each time, I duly ran in zig-zag patterns. Zippy-do-da! I’m still alive to write this blog.  

Onomatopoeia refers to a word that imitates or suggests the word’s sound. It can bring language to life by capturing its sound in the word itself.  Buzz, crash, whisper are all common examples.  Animal noises (bark, meow, chirp) are all onomatopoeia words.  Nature sounds lend themselves to be onomatopoeia. (The drizzle of rain; the swoosh of the wind; the gurgling creek).  

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Escaping the Rabbit Hole

Lori Twining Leave a comment

What does the term “Rabbit Hole” refer to? And why would you want to escape it?

These are both great questions.

The popular term is “falling down the rabbit hole” and for most people, it is a reference to Lewis Carroll’s classic novel Alice in Wonderland, where Carroll described a character disappearing into a world full of chaos or confusion. 

Speculation in the literary world suggests that Carroll was also describing what happens when a person takes a hallucinogenic substance that depicts a wild and freaky drug trip. Others compare it to a metaphor for the entry into the unknown, the gate into a new and exciting place full of adventure and somewhere where you can just get lost and you don’t have to return from it.

What does the freaky trip into the unknown mean to me?

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To-Write or Not-To-Write

Diane Ferguson Leave a comment

Every writer I know has trouble writing. – Joseph Heller

I never thought I’d experienced writer’s block, assumed it meant you couldn’t think of anything to write. For me, there was always something flowing out my pen, even if it wasn’t great literature. One sunny day this summer, I was procrastinating on my writing and picked up a book I’d been gifted: Write. 10 Days to overcome Writer’s Block. Period, by Karen E. Peterson, Ph.D.

I quickly learned what I thought of as “resistance to writing” was in fact WRITER’S BLOCK!!! Who was I kidding? I was constantly fighting writer’s block. There are many real things to keep us from writing: day jobs, kids, partners, parents, social obligations. But the real demons can often be found in our own heads.

We dream of having a block of fully un-interrupted time where we are immersed in our writing and hours go by without our noticing. Or anyone interrupting. We are able to achieve the illusive “creative flow”. But the reality is, though we may have those days from time-to-time, most of our writing happens between things.

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