Diane Sherlock
-
What is your relationship to money? We tend to accept it as a given that if we create, we will be poor, but what it we challenge that assumption? I contend that the traits that most often lead us into the arts, or at least into creating fiction, are many of the ones that limit…
-
NaNoWriMo has helped me get back in the habit of writing a LOT. They suggest 1,667 words per day to reach the goal of 50,000 words for a first draft. So far so good only in terms of word count. This is a quantity over quality exercise and “first draft” is going to be a…
-
OMGWHATHAVEIDONE! Okay, I really do have some trepidation, mostly because I really don’t have an idea for the next novel, but idea or no, I begin tomorrow! Eeek! I figured it was a good way to start and to ratchet up the commitment, I’m raising money besides! (Note: my mentor, Rob Roberge, would never support…
-
Have visited Nazareth, Mt. Tabor, site of the Transfiguration and Cana, where Jesus turned water into wine (first public miracle) in Israel. I was also analyzing a book and realized there are some passages in the Bible that can help creative people. The primary one is in Genesis 1 when God creates the world. Look…
-
If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it? ~ Albert Einstein I love research. And not as a tool of procrastination (I know your tricks)! In order to write believable fiction, your details must be accurate. This allows the reader to relax and enjoy your story…
-
Am on a refreshment break, so the regular post will be a few days late. In the meantime, here’s Aaron Gansky on creating atmosphere for a quick blast of craft and then agent Sarah LaPolla on the myth of the perfect agent for a longer blast of the business of writing, including what questions to…
-
If you want to write strong, believable dialog, then it pays to take time to train your ear, in addition to reading great dialog, attend plays, read good plays and screenplays, go see classic movies and all kinds of concerts. Yep, music. The other benefit is to create an awareness for the reader of your…
-
Rejection. Well, that’s depressing, but all artists, all writers, must deal with it at one time or another. Maybe all the time or at least it feels that way. The added problem is that rejection triggers me and other writers I know with old echoes of rejection, humiliation, etc. from childhood. Probably true for most…
-
Imagination is the lifeblood of a writer’s creativity, but imagination and creativity are different. If you only imagine, the book does not get written. If you only create, you can miss out on where flights of fancy may take you. There’s a wonderful book by Naomi Epel called Writers Dreaming – writers discuss dreaming and…
-
Curiosity is the engine of art. The desire to know or learn and the desire to create come together in the best writing. Probably the two defining questions for the writer are ‘what if?’ and ‘what happens next?’ To which Lisa Cron would add ‘and so?’ (read her book Wired for Story to find out…
Diane Sherlock 
You must be logged in to post a comment.