writing – Page 4 – Ascribe Writers

Transitions

February 13, 2023February 13, 2023 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.

In the Event of My Death: Burn Everything… or Steamroll It!

January 30, 2023January 29, 2023 Lori Twining 2 Comments

Over the Christmas holidays, I decided to declutter my basement office. The task had been on my To-Do List for far too long. I procrastinated because it was a BIG job, which ultimately took me seven days to complete. Sad, but true.

While sifting through the stacks of papers, books, and file folders, I found some personal notes full of secret information. Information that I don’t need or want anyone else to know about. What if someone else had seen them? What would they think? What would they say?

A New Year: time for new writing goals and charting a path to success

January 9, 2023January 9, 2023 Seana Moorhead 1 Comment

It’s a new year and a perfect time to think about writing goals for 2023. There are four approaches to setting new years’ goals:

1. Set multiple goals but break them within minutes, hours or days because we never had any true intention. This is more a “wish” list of wants / desires rather than a true goal setting.

2 . Set one or two goals and managed to keep it until around Ground Hog’s day and then give up because honestly, keeping to your goals is hard work.

3. Refuse to set goals at New Years because either we know there’s no point (because we won’t keep to them), feel it is too cliche or we are completely content with our present life so we need no goals.

4. Set actual achievable goals and keep to it, even if the the goal is not ultimately achieved, the steps and habits get developed over the year.

How do we get to number 4?

Ghosts of Christmas’ Past

January 2, 2023January 2, 2023 Diane Ferguson Leave a comment

Will I ever forget the blizzard of 22? We were stuck home like so many others. But since we knew it was coming, we’d prepared. We’d canceled plans to visit family on Christmas and made sure we were well-stocked with food and necessities. But no more than an hour into the blizzard and we’d lost power. This wasn’t looking good. We hadn’t filled the water buckets yet. Our usual debate about getting a generator ensued.

Without power, we stayed by the fire most of the day. What better time to do some reading! I have the most comfortable reading chair right next to the fire. That, a cat and my blanket and I was all set for a Hygge Christmas. I took the forced digital disconnection to catch-up on some reading on writing. I re-read most of Robert McKee’s, Story. And I skimmed through, Story Genius, by Lisa Cron, which I’d previously read. And also caught up a bit on, Save the Cat! Writes a Novel, by Jessica Brody.

Call Me the GRINCH

December 5, 2022December 5, 2022 Donna Judy Curtin Leave a comment

Tis the season of stress. The season of hunting for that perfect precious gift while you get your elbows up to wrestle for that last sale item on your list. Not only do you need to tackle your regular laundry, dusting, vacuuming, dog walking, work and dishes… but now you need to clean your house before you can hang up those pesky decorations and Christmas lights (fit in the marital spat over the lights, apologize and then make up for your poor behaviour), drag out and dust off the ol’ Christmas tree, and then somehow remember to move the freakin’ Christmas Elf every night before bed. Read more

Fear

November 21, 2022November 20, 2022 Diane Ferguson Leave a comment

The theme of fear keeps popping up for me this month. My spiritual teacher used it for a focus of discussion at the beginning of the month and I’ve been contemplating what my fears are and which ones I need to push through and which ones I need to honour. For instance, the old example of jumping off a cliff into water. I’m okay with not doing that. I don’t chase an adrenaline high. Maybe I’m missing out, but I generally don’t like falling. Perhaps I’m just a creature of comfort, but I also know I have to push outside my comfort zone to grow anything.

I’m also listening to the book, The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals that Protect Us from Violence, by Gavin de Becker. He tells us how our bodies know when something’s wrong, it’s whether or not we listen to our own inner warning signals. The signs are always there even though people often say, I had no idea. Becker uses the example of our dogs, how they will react negatively to a person who wants to harm us in some way. The dog is not reacting to the stranger, the dog is reacting to you and the signals your body is giving. Often, in an effort to be polite, or nice, we override our own gut instincts getting us into trouble we could’ve seen coming. Read more

It’s All About Temperature

October 24, 2022October 24, 2022 Donna Judy Curtin Leave a comment

Photo credit with thanks to Sarah McCraw Crow. @sarahmcrow

Blink and their gone.

What am I referring to?

Fall leaves.

It seems that one day I’m trying to remind myself to appreciate the stunning red and yellow canopies and then suddenly, the trees are bare, and snow begins to fall.

But I’m determined this year to slow the clock, to breathe in the leaves fermenting on the ground. Is that what makes that smell? Rotting leaves? Mold? Mushrooms? Some magical combination of rain, cold nights, and the sap draining from the trees and into the ground to hide away until maple syrup season? Read more

Keeping the Magic Going

October 17, 2022October 17, 2022 Seana Moorhead 1 Comment

I love writing retreats. In my busy life with my work, home, dogs, garden, more dogs, canning and preserving, kayaking, building, wood spilting, and spending time with friends and family, it can be hard to find dedicated extended periods of time to work on my novel.

Spending a week with writing friends and getting up early every morning to write all day and into the evening feels like stepping into a different world. Not to mention, talking and brainstorming ideas with people who are also passionate about writing and want to help each other write the best possible story. Returning home can feel a little like leaving the magical world of Oz.

How can you keep the magic flowing for your writing? Or maybe you haven’t had the opportunity for a writing retreat and want to find a way to inspire you to write more consistently. How can you get that magic flowing?

Tag: writing