It's one of the largest annual gatherings of creative writers, publishers, and educators in the United States--usually well in excess of 10,000 attendees--and the largest such event for literary writers. Once again I'll be attending the AWP Conference & Bookfair, the Association of Writers and Writing Programs' annual extravaganza. This year the hordes will be …
Tag: writing tips
Using Extended Metaphors in Your Writing — Part Three
Welcome to my final post on crafting an extended metaphor that runs the length of your creative writing. These lessons apply for fiction as well as nonfiction, but for the purposes of this series I've focused on examples from my recently published memoir, Committed: A Memoir of the Artist's Road. In Part One of this series …
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Using Extended Metaphors in Your Writing — Part Two
Extended metaphors in prose resonate with the reader, even if she isn't sure what it is the author has done to trigger that resonance. In Part One of this series I explained that making use of a recurring metaphor advances both plot and character development. We looked at how to identify a key theme that needs …
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Using Extended Metaphors in Your Writing – Part One
One element of creative writing that I struggled with in my MFA program was the use of metaphor, particularly ones extended across long passages. I bemoaned my struggle from one of my Vermont College of Fine Arts residencies. But as I progressed in my studies I came to realize I was too hard on myself, …
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ICYMI: A Collection of Creativity Clips
Looking for a little creativity recharge as 2014 winds to a close? Not looking to have to open that pocketbook one more time this holiday season? Please enjoy this collection of creativity and creative-craft posts I have written for others during my blog tour for Committed: A Memoir of the Artist's Road. Let's learn from creatives: Committed features …
Writing Nonfiction to Read Like Fiction
Memoirs are supposed to be languid reflections of a notable life lived, correct? So how would you describe Cheryl Strayed's runaway bestseller Wild, coming soon as a movie to a theater near you starring Reece Witherspoon? Strayed shares in her memoir insights on a failed marriage, grief over a lost mother, and pain stemming from a …
Lessons on Writing Dialogue from a Memoirist
My blog tour following the publication of Committed: A Memoir of the Artist's Road continues with a writing craft post of mine on the award-winning blog by K.M. Weiland, Helping Writers Become Authors. K.M.'s readership largely comprises fiction writers, so I kept that in mind in writing a piece about crafting dialogue in your stories. In my …
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Are You Talking to Me? Use of the Second Person
Perhaps it's because I don't like being told what to do. Maybe it's because I don't like to reflect on some of the things I've done. But as a reader I generally do not care for the use of the second person. I've been forced to rethink my position after reading Sue William Silverman's masterful …
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Guest Post: How Properly Structured Beginnings and Endings Hold Your Book Together
The indomitable K.M. Weiland is at it again with a new writing craft book titled Structuring Your Novel: Essential Keys for Writing an Outstanding Story. We have on occasion posted on each other's blogs and we like to retweet each other. Today I'm providing a new guest post from her that provides a bit of …
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A Pearl of Wisdom for Fiction Writers
Allow me to share with you a nugget for my readers who are fiction writers. This is from an essay on the great Victorian novelist George Eliot by Joseph Epstein, from his recently published essay collection Essays in Biography: One of the modern fiction workshop laws is that a writer should always show and never …
The Artist's Road 