Odds are your writing is never going to be made into a screenplay and filmed by a Hollywood producer, requiring you to give a 5-minute acceptance speech at the Oscars. However, thinking cinematically by creating a screenplay outline will help you focus and organize your writing. A screenplay describes characters, scenes, and action—all essential elements…
You encounter your new next-door neighbor when you’re out walking the dog and they tell you how the movers still haven’t showed up, which means they spent their first night in an unfamiliar house sleeping in their clothes on the floor, huddled together in their sleeping bags. Then the two of you talk about how…
Obviously, the researchers never caught me attempting to sew. On the other hand, I was told, “people who like math are good with computers.” Ha! If I could cut and paste the elementary way, well no problem. But there are buttons on this “New Blog” home page that don’t work for me. I keep clicking…
I recently asked a writer friend why he wasn’t in any critique groups, and his answer surprised me. He told me he’s always been a lone wolf when it came to his writing and that he doesn’t know how to share it without the fear of a group response “killing” the momentum. (Or, I suspect,…
For years I’ve wondered how I’ll ever be considered a serious author if I can only complete short stories. I belong to several writing groups where most members proudly mention how many books they’ve published, or how close they are to finishing their second book, or their third, or their ninth. Wisely I don’t join the…