Category: Writing’s distinct voice
When I read, I love to lift out quotes that speak to me and remind me of the story long after I’ve read the last page. Here are three to ponder. Enjoy! … good friends are durable. They’re meant to survive the gaps in growing pains. Dumplin’ (a kindle version) by Julie Murphy A corner is always temporary; it can be backed out of. Humans forget this…and flail away fruitlessly whenever they find themselves stuck. It is better to sit still, maybe take a na, right there in the offending “corner” and see what come to one. Like...
When you talk face-to-face with others or provide your feedback, use the 3 C’s to improve your communication skills. Use: Collaboration, Creativity, and Critical Thinking Collaboration: work with the goal of listening to others (voices or written words)before you speak. Creativity: share your original ideas when the other person desires your input. Critical Thinking: use considerate, careful judgment in your suggestions. Be careful not to trample on other’s ideas in your excitement to share your thoughts.
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...
When the book you are reading is littered with sticky notes marking great images, you know you have a writer who sees clearly. Check out Peter Hessler, author of River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze. Through his ‘eyes’, I revisit Fuling, China, a city situated where the Wu River meets the Yangtze. “Fuling is not an easy city. Old people rest on the staircases, panting. To carry anything up the hills is backbreaking work and so the city is full of porters. They haul their loads on bamboo poles balanced across their shoulders, the same way freight was carried...
