On Writing

How to Start a Story

January 31, 2012
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How to Start a Story

One of the questions I hear frequently from aspiring writers is, “How do I start a story?” Even seasoned writers have days when the story won’t come. In an interview in Intrview Magazine in 1995, Martin Amis said of novel-writing, “If I come up against a brick wall, I’ll just go and play snooker or something or sleep on it, and my subconscious will fix it for me.” Good advice, for sure. But if snooker and the subconscious don’t do it for you, here are a few tips to get you going. You can begin “in medias res,” or...

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Creative Fidgeting

January 27, 2012
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Creative Fidgeting

An article by Roland Rotz, Ph.D., in ADDitude Magazine this month claims you shouldn’t fight the fidget, especially when it comes to children with ADHD: Doing two things at once, it turns out, can actually help focus the ADHD brain on a primary task. Experts believe that engaging in an activity that uses a sense other than what’s required for your primary task — listening to music while reading a social studies textbook, for example — can enhance focus and improve performance in children with attention deficit disorder. These secondary tasks are called fidgets — mindless activities you can...

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Nanowrimo Day 1: Start Your Novel Now!

November 1, 2011
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Nanowrimo Day 1: Start Your Novel Now!

Are you ready to draft a 50,000 word novel in 30 days? If so, you’ll be pleased to note that today is the first day of the annual brouhaha known as National Novel Writing Month, or Nanowrimo. Laura Miller over at Salon thinks you shouldn’t attempt it, on account of writing being such a narcissistic pursuit, while reading, she thinks, is a dying art. Miller is concerned that “an astonishing number of individuals who want to do the former will confess to never doing the latter .” Well, she has a point there. When I teach,...

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Where stories begin…

October 19, 2011
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Where stories begin…

Sometimes the hardest part about being a writer is committing the first words to paper. Story Starters: A Workbook for Writers, is designed to banish writer’s block, spark your imagination, and provide endless opportunities to make stories out of thin air. Arranged in a daily progression to help you get the most out of your writing practice, the 50 exercises in this workbook are the result of more than a decade of teaching creative writing in universities and community-based workshops. Craft exercises, free-flow exercises, and ten-minute prompts lead up to a series of flash fiction assignments. A Halfway There...

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Online Fiction Writing Course

September 16, 2011
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Sorry, this course is now closed for enrollment. Visit bayareabookdoctor.com for future dates. Learn how to create conflict, choose a compelling point of view, and move your story forward. Understand what makes a scene tick and what makes a character worth caring about in Fundamentals of Fiction Writing, a six-week online course that begins Oct. 15, 2011. Each week features a lecture, reading and writing assignments, live chat, and discussion forum focusing on one of the fundamental elements of fiction craft: characterization point of view structure setting dialogue plot Class structure: A weekly lecture on a specific aspect of...

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