What every writer needs: a smart, honest, critical reader. Or in a perfect world, a posse of smart-honest-criticals. Let's face it. If you have an Einsteinian friend, but he only heaps praise upon your work and doesn't share what could be better, how does that help? If you have an Eeyore-type who honestly sees prickles …
Author: GriffithsKL
Spontaneous 8 Drama on the High Sea
They say there's always a cruise story. Here's one you wouldn't expect. How does this relate to writing? A writer must be able to see the worst possible scenario in order to create tense moments, but she must also be ready to see the best, to be the ultimate optimist. So I got a rejection, …
Writing is a Solitary Pursuit. Being Read, a Sociable One.
Writing is a solitary pursuit. I remember telling my professor-uncle I wanted to be a writer. His response was that I should prepare for a painful, lonely existence. I was in college and had taken a few writing classes. Still high on workshop praise and being ever the pragmatist, I decided writing was the "career" …
Continue reading Writing is a Solitary Pursuit. Being Read, a Sociable One.
Another Heart Melted by Abbott
I had to repost this from my dear friend, Nancy Beach, who blogs at filledtoempty.com. She's an amazing writer, and she brings joy to everyone she meets. I remember the day she and Abbott met, the day she decided to hang out in my family room with a sharp-toothed animal that scared the lights out …
Goodbye, Abbott
When I walk in the door, Abbott is always there to greet me with his enormous shnaz (our word for his nose) and his beautiful, watery eyes that gaze at me with absolute adoration. There's something heady about being in the crosshairs of dog-love. I pat his head and ask, "How's my favorite?" I have …
Life is Short. Eat Cake.
In 2018 thanks to a brain tumor, I was struck by the truth that life-is-short. Okay, it sucker-punched me. I survived 2018, and in 2019, probably as a result of making it through mostly unscathed, was hit by this truth: eat cake. The two phrases together make up what I hope will be my 2020 …
Spontaneous 7 Oxymoron: Thin-Skinned Writer
If you're a writer, you may start out thin-skinned, but if you're to survive, you can't possibly stay that way. Most writers fall into the craft because of some strategically-timed compliments, generally given by authority figures and well-meaning English teachers in our formative years. This is usually coupled with an insatiable appetite for reading. …
Continue reading Spontaneous 7 Oxymoron: Thin-Skinned Writer
Spontaneous 6: Tension on Every Page
This may be my favorite exercise ever. Donald Maass calls it tension-on-every-page. You're probably thinking, Thanks for the tip, Captain Obvious. What writer would purpose to write even one boring page? I hear that. But the way we go about adding tension matters. I could just throw my veggies in a pot, dump in some …
Spontaneous 5: Where’s the Beef?
Ever wonder why that would-be writer is taking FOR. EVER to produce something? I mean, Where's the beef? You've been at this for, what? –a year? So and so writer churns them out with the regularity of vegan bowel movements, and you're still just...writing? Here's how non-writers regard book-writing. They take the time it took …
Spontaneous 4: How Can This Get Any Worse?
If you're a cup half-empty person, you're always asking and answering that question. I am, admittedly, a prophet of doom. I can ALWAYS see how things can get worse. Just ask my husband. He'll tell you about the giant trees that stood majestically on our front lawn, the ones I imagined falling. Not in just …
KL Griffiths 