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Monthly Archives: November 2011

The Urge to write

Posted on by in Urge to Write

The urge to write began in my teens and continued well into my twenties . Despite several software startups and a lot of years, it has stubbornly refused to go away. So to launch this blog, I thought I'd pay homage to it with one of my favorite writer anecdotes:

  • The prolific science fiction writer, Isaac Asimov, was once asked what he would

What makes a memorable character

Posted on by in Building Characters
So many of the books on writing focus on one area: dialog, style, character, setting or plot. That’s why I’m so fond of the book, Story, by Robert McKee. It analyzes what makes a good story, well told. One of its most important premises is that plot and character are inseparable from one another. And what makes a story memorable is a memorable character. What does that mean? Likeable, attractive, heroic?

Details, details…A storm inside the room

Posted on by in Creating My Writing Voice, Details, details, The mood of a scene
We're told today's twittering reader has a short attention span, is easily bored. Stories need to be fast paced and not bog down in details. No Jane Austen ruminations or Melville's descriptions of the whaling industry. I recently read a book called Reading Like a Writer, by Francine Prose. The book was unusual as books for writers go because it's basic premise is that rules are made to be broken.

A strange and mightily obsessed book

Posted on by in Building Characters, Creating My Writing Voice, The mood of a scene, Urge to Write
I just finished rereading To a God Unknown, John Steinbeck’s second novel. I first read it many years ago when I was fifteen and it made a huge impression--not quite the book that started me writing, but close. I decided to reread it to find out why it had such an influence on me.It’s not regarded as one of Steinbeck’s best or even a particularly good novel. Criticism ranged from lukewarm to

First draft frustrations

Posted on by in Building Characters, Details, details, Urge to Write
It's been suggested that we write first drafts with our hearts and subsequent drafts with our heads. It's also been said that first drafts are crap. Likely, both are true. When I start a new book, I try to keep that in mind. I usually know the beginning and end, but the impetus to write the book is nothing more than a series of images. A long

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