If you were to judge my reading habits by the reviews on this blog, you would probably think I read mostly YA fiction. But I don’t review every book I read and choose to focus on YA lit here because of my professional interest. I’ve decided to try and be more balanced in both my… Continue reading Oh, I Admit It. I’m Pretentious: The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides
Tag: characterization
NSWC Lesson #3: Getting to Know Your Character
Though I’ve done similar lists when developing my characters, a few of the prompts used during our character trait brainstorming exercise were not only ones I hadn’t used before, but they were also enlightening. What is your character’s most prized possession? There may not ever be a chance to reveal this in story, but I… Continue reading NSWC Lesson #3: Getting to Know Your Character
NSWC Lesson #2: The Ladder of Specificity
The workshop I participated in at NSWC was about building compelling characters. The focus was on characterization in scene. We did several exercises to explore our main character. One I found especially useful, practically and conceptually, was “the ladder of specificity (or abstraction)” when deciding what details to include in scenes. First, we discussed why… Continue reading NSWC Lesson #2: The Ladder of Specificity
NSWC Lesson #1: POV and Tense
A lot of people have different agendas for their blog. Mine is a way for me to process my thoughts on writing (and reading. Sometimes even life). So many bloggers write with their audience in mind and share their knowledge on craft. That’s not something I’m attempting to (or am qualified to) do. This is… Continue reading NSWC Lesson #1: POV and Tense
Feel of Fact
“The imagination is in love with the feel of fact.” – John Bayley * In high school, I had an eccentric English teacher who often spoke in contradictory terms and used circular logic. She had this analogy for explaining paradox that goes like this. Pretend two ideas are socks. When you role them up, the… Continue reading Feel of Fact
wrapped up in books 