In the early years of my writing career, a magazine editor gently chastised me for using weak verbs in the article I’d submitted. “Use lively verbs,” he told me. Lively verbs? What the heck did that mean? I searched through my article again. Sure enough, most of the verbs I’d used were passive and emotionless….
Category: Blog
Smashing Your Blocks
All week, I’ve balked at writing my monthly blog post, likely because my day job drains my creative reserves. Luckily, I realized my best option was to steer into the skid and write on this very topic! I doubt many of us often grapple with the basic “what to write about at all” problem. But…
Creative Endurance & More
Creative Endurance. David Yoon suggests creative endurance can be cultivated. “Grit is not a personality trait or a special skill. It’s not even all that special. Anyone can have grit because grit is simply a set of good habits.” Some excellent suggestions here. Getting Unstuck. Love these tips from Janice Hardy for how to get…
You’re not doing it write.
A writer friend once told me if you’re writing a sad scene and it doesn’t make you cry, you’re not doing it right. If you’re writing a humorous passage and it doesn’t make you laugh, you’re not doing it right. Wise words. I would add, if you’re writing suspense and you’re not anxious, you’re not…
Summertime Blues
The living might be easy, but the writing . . . not so much. Perhaps because I am a writer of horror and mystery, I prefer a melancholy atmosphere—dreary weather and short, dark days—for holing up with my laptop to create twisty stories. When the pools open, the barbeques belch smoke and the drinks don…