RUE–Resist the Urge to Explain. Over-explaining is one of the quickest ways to get your readers to skim. The problem is, no one can define how much backstory is sufficient or can pinpoint the exact place to insert it. This is one of the aspects of craft that can drive even an experienced writer around …
Isaac Asimov wrote that it was easy to predict the income tax, but difficult to predict the expense account. Futurists get a lot of things right, but predicting societal paradigm shifts is more akin to magic than logic. Writers could learn from this. We may be creating the world of our novels, but we are …
Writing What No One Could Predict by Lani Longshore Read More »
When the car passed in the dark street, my first thought was, “What sort of story will that driver tell about us later today?” My husband, son, and I trundled through the dark and cold, way-before-dawn, to view the eclipse of the Blue Blood Moon. Our neighborhood is filled with street lights, but within a …
Point of View and People Watching Me by Lani Longshore Read More »
Every January offers a chance to reinvent yourself, including your writing self. If you aren’t satisfied with where you are and what you are doing as a writer, now is the time to try something new. 1. Create your own writing prompts. As you go through your day, jot down the odd questions that pop …
Three Steps to Become A Better Writer by Lani Longshore Read More »
Shameless self-promotion alert, I’ll have a new book coming out in the next couple of months. I’m evaluating ways to promote it, and Julaina Kleist-Corwin gave me a suggestion: try video. Julaina leads the Tri-Valley Writers Social Media Group. Each month she presents great tips about building your platform. Her research indicates that more and …
Jordan Rosenfeld, who presented a workshop for Tri-Valley Writers on character and point of view, gave a brief writing exercise on creating new metaphors and similes. She presented a list of phrases that had become cliches and challenged us to create something fresh. I thought a different way of saying right as rain could be …
Similes, Metaphors and Phrases by Lani Longshore Read More »
I have a pad of paper on a magnet on the refrigerator for the grocery list. There are stacks of scrap paper by the telephone, and a legal pad on my nightstand for ideas that wake me from a sound sleep. One could believe I am a die-hard devotee of paper as the perfect writing …
The last of the Baby Boomers and the first of the Gen Xers will be the last generation to remember the world before the internet, or so I heard at a lecture by Scott Thomas Anderson at CWC Tri-Valley Writers September meeting. That’s a bit of a shock, but there’s a bigger demarcation line in …
The Last Generation to Remember the World Before Photocopiers by Lani Longshore Read More »
The most recent natural disaster, Hurricane Harvey, reminded me to review my earthquake preparedness file. It contains lists of what to do before, during, and after an earthquake. Most important, there are lists of things to keep packed and ready. I suggest that a writer needs to add a notebook and supply of pens to …
Every time one of my writing buddies gets a nibble from an agent, I wonder if I shouldn’t trust the universe to provide and send out another round of queries myself. I’m happy enough self-publishing. No, my sales aren’t good, but the chances of them being better with a traditional publisher aren’t guaranteed, and at …
