Writing a memoir is not easy. Like any genre, we need a compelling narrative arc driven by good scenes full of sensory details and great dialog. But we also need to create meaning from experience and offer takeaways for our readers. We need to claim our own emotional truth. Negative critics jabber away in our… Read more »
If you’ve been following my last two articles on scene analysis, you know how valuable I believe it is for writers to understand how to determine if a scene either advances the plot and/or develops the character(s). This is especially important if it is the opening chapter of a novel. Before I became a Certified… Read more »
Shortly after I submitted my last Speculations, COVID-19 made its presence felt. The world shut down and we all self-isolated and waited for health authorities to tell us that the danger had passed. It hasn’t. Then May 25, 2020 arrived, and 8 minutes and 46 seconds changed everything. Though George Floyd was not the first,… Read more »
My first deep impression of anthologies was as texts in poetry school. I still have a shelf dedicated to these early intros to poetry: The Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry, Imagist Poetry: An Anthology, Great Poems by American Women: An Anthology. In the literary arts, collections like these register a kind of arrival to such… Read more »
DP Lyle’s 4th Jake Longly thriller Rigged is here! Fans of the series can expect another smooth, funny ride with Jake, girlfriend Nicole Jamison, dad Ray, and childhood friend Tommy “Pancake” Jeffers. Since this book is set in the nearby town of Fairhope, rather than Jake’s hometown of Gulf Shores, AL, we meet police chief… Read more »
Welcome back! In my last column I talked about the immense value of using Story Grid’s Scene Analysis Template to read with purpose, by learning how to read (and analyze a scene) like a writer. To recap: the bulk of the Scene Analysis Template focuses on how a working scene creates a Story Event—or an… Read more »
Mark your calendars for August 6th. That’s when Alison Weir’s newest historical fiction novel – Katheryn Howard: The Tainted Queen – will be available in bookshops and online. Better still, preorder it now and you’ll be among the first to have it. Though some describe Weir’s non-fiction as “popular” history (she even uses the term… Read more »
Anyone who loves mysteries and thrillers should have at least a passing acquaintance with the great Daphne du Maurier. I know this, because my own acquaintance with her was extremely passing until recently, despite a personal connection. (Rebecca is one of my mother’s favorite books and my younger brother was almost named Max. My oldest… Read more »
Essays are having a hot moment right now, but they’ve been around for a long time. The word “essay” originates from the French word “essayer,” meaning “to try.” The form has certainly morphed with time, but in a sense boils down to the writer figuring out what they think and feel by writing about it…. Read more »
Last time on Speculations, I offered a brief introduction to the tarot. This time, I’ve read and will briefly review five books on tarot for writers, so that you can decide which reference(s), if any, you might want to add to your writing craft library. I’ve decided to present them in chronological order by date… Read more »
