Tagged: details

Resolutions

book reviewing / details in writing / musings

Resolutions

Resolution: a resolve, a declaration, a decision to make a change. Authors make resolutions every day as they develop and write their character’s lives. True, they are not usually to lose weight or read a certain number of books; they revolve around day-to-day decisions with the intent of moving their stories forward. Will Marta recover from her injury? Will Steve get a job? Will Lynne keep her position with the Intermountain Ballet Company? Will Madame ever explain to Marta or Lynne why she was hard on them? Those are the fun elements in stories that need to be shared before...

Quotes to Ponder

quotes

Quotes to Ponder

When I read, I am often stopped by a line or a paragraph in a book that triggers a sensation in my brain. Maybe some of these will provide something for you to ponder. Rex felt as if they were moving through space, that they were giant spacemen, threading in and out among trillions of tiny, luminous stars. (they are in snow)    The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard, p.19   A rainbow of colored umbrellas punctuated by black bumbers favored by the suited class.   Assault & Pepper by Leslie Budewitz, p. 214   Words or fists, it didn’t...

Fiction Books with Great Descriptions

84 Ribbons / details in writing / musings / quotes

Fiction Books with Great Descriptions

I’m a sucker for a great description. I love the visuals they create for me as well as the way they bring our other senses into play: sound, touch, smell and taste. Check out these novel excerpts. They inspire me when I write my stories. Let me know if you agree. The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd It was the time of year when migrating crows wheeled across the sky, thunderous flocks that moved like a single veil. (kindle location:  1910 of 5663) The Secret River by Kate Grenville Morning and evening the Government chain gangs clanked and...

Moving Close to the End

details in writing / new works / Uncategorized

Moving Close to the End

Right now I’m close finishing When the Music Stops, book two in my ballet trilogy. It’s funny; the closer I get to finishing the more questions I find I need to resolve.  I question my tension and my problems strewn across their lives. Since my characters become as real as my friends, I know their strengths and weaknesses, their hot buttons and their fears. Often I become overprotective of their “lives”, unwilling to let harm approach them. I always hope I have provided the promise of a good story but fear I may have fallen short. It’s a writer’s curse....

Word Painting

details in writing / Writing's distinct voice

Word Painting

  I love the book Word Painting by Rebecca McClanahan (Writers Digest, 1999). She writes about the power of description, calling it  one of the 3 parts of a story along with exposition and narration. Here are a few of her ideas. “Description is an attempt to present as directly as possible the qualities of a person, place or object.” She goes on to suggest that we work to evoke a visual or other sense as much as we actually share  it. She believes impressions of our senses have power. “A picture may be worth a thousand words, but a scent is worth...

Details, Details, Details

details in writing

Details, Details, Details

What separates mediocre from good or great writing? Details. In the book,  A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, the style is dated, but the details held me in the story. Betty Smith took the time to incorporate significant details related to the 1910-1915’s: money tied in the corner of handkerchiefs, carrying tin to be sold for precious pennies and reading the family Bible as a way to learn to read. In a more recent read of a current author, I felt let down. She told us what she saw instead of drawing us in with sensory details. True, her drama moved...