Creating Memorable & Believable Characters

“Fiction is the truth inside the lie.” ~ Stephen King This week I did an interesting and useful assignment for my fiction writing course. You take a character from your story idea, and use the following formula: if a character was a car, she/he would be_______. Then substitute “car” with “food,” “drink,” “movie,” etc. After [...]

Read Full Post »

Fiction Writing: A Quest for the Perfect Toy

I’ve been so busy with “stuff,” I almost forgot to post about the beginning of a new course that I am enrolled in. It’s Fiction Writing through Gotham Writing Workshop, led by the same instructor as my previous Creative Writing 101, Chip Livingston. It’s week two, in which we learn about CHARACTER. This week’s assignment [...]

Read Full Post »

Short Story: The Secret Recipe

“Today, my boy, I’ll give you your last lesson. I am getting old and frail; my health is no longer what it used to be even 80 years back; it’s time for me to move on. You want to say something? You have my leave to speak.” “But where would you go, roshi? Isn’t this [...]

Read Full Post »

Once Upon a Time…

If you more or less follow my blog, would you be surprised that this cute little creature lured me into yet another reading adventure? Not only is the image adorable, it also reminds me of my longtime desire to reacquaint myself with one of the best fantasy stories I’ve ever read, The Little Prince by [...]

Read Full Post »

“Talent can be taught.” An interview with Chip Livingston, poet, writer, teacher.

Chip Livingston  is the author of the poetry collection Museum of False Starts. His fiction and non-fiction are also widely published, in journals including Ploughshares, Cincinnati Review, Potomac Review, Court Green, Subtropics, and Crazyhorse. He holds a BS in Journalism and a BA in English from the University of Florida, an MA in Fiction Writing from [...]

Read Full Post »

How to Kill a Story

Have you ever killed a story? A story that you are trying to tell. I bet you are thinking, why on earth would I want to kill my story? Really, WHY? Yet, many people do that every day. They write their stories (articles, news releases, novels, reports, essays, blog posts etc.) and kill them on [...]

Read Full Post »