Authors talk about the Internal Editor all the time, but they don’t often talk about their Subconscious Author. This post by Lisa Schroeder got me thinking . . . does every writer have a Subconscious Author? I would think we all do, but I’m not sure.

I guess it would help to define what I mean by Subconscious Author (SA). This is the force that ( Read more... )

Last Friday I posted about making sure we use analogies appropriate for our characters. Today I’m discussing an often forgotten character. You’re probably thinking I’m crazy. You haven’t forgotten any of your characters. You’ve devoted hours (or days or weeks or months) developing them. You know who they are, what they want, how they’ll grow ( Read more... )

I love the exchange between Shrek and Donkey where Shrek tries to explain ogres. It’s a great example of characterization, and also showing vs. telling.

Shrek could have told Donkey, “Ogres have layers,” but by using an analogy (onions), he illustrates (pun intended) it for Donkey. The exchange between them after Shrek’s declaration of “Ogres are ( Read more... )

In the spring of 2010 I made the decision to go back to school and work toward my degree in Elementary Education. On my schedule that semester I had English 102, Cultural Diversity in Education, Geology, and the Geology Lab. Early into the semester, I realized the Geology and Geology Lab classes (same teacher/class hours) were going to be too much ( Read more... )

I’m feeling a bit better today, but I’m thinking it might not be allergies since I ended up having a bit of a fever. I’m still stuffed up and coughing up a lung, but I don’t feel like I’m going to pass out every time I try to stand up. That’s good.

Anyway, before I move into the whole Road to Publication thing, I wanted to direct your attention to ( Read more... )

In my previous post about the road to publication, Nathree commented about how she tends to stop and stare at the roadmap for hours on end and that she’s insecure of where she’s going. I suggested she needed a GPS and thought I’d elaborate a bit on that today.

What is a GPS?

In the analogy of The Road, a GPS is a good critique group and/or ( Read more... )

Some quick thoughts on the road to publication before I go off to class.

First the good news. The road to publication is mostly paved. There may be a few routes left unpaved or only chip sealed, but the majority of the way has been laid by those who have gone before (other authors who have struggled to make it).

The bad news is, there are parts ( Read more... )

Jody Hedlund had an excellent blog post discussing if “putting in the time” really matters. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it. Among other things, she reminds writers that everyone’s journey is different. It may take one writer years to get published and another may take a much shorter time, but the main thing is to keep learning the ( Read more... )

Today's post by robinellen got me thinking about dreams. What is a dream? According to the dictionary there are many definitions. This post doesn't focus on what happens when we are asleep (or awake as in a daydream), but rather two other definitions:

1. "an aspiration; goal; aim"

2. "a wild or vain fancy"

Though the dictionary defines both as dreams ( Read more... )

I decided getting published is like building a beautiful flower arrangement.

The gardener and flowers

A gardener plants the seed, nurtures it, cares for it, and grows it into a beautiful flower. There are many varieties of flowers. Some gardeners concentrate on growing one specific type of flower while others are able to branch out into several ( Read more... )