fiction
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…but not of the blog! No, the end of your novel. How do you know when you’re finished? Last night, I had dinner with a group of writers and one reminded me I’d said I knew I’d finished my novel when I was so sick of the thing, I couldn’t go over it one more…
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This morning I had a brief exchange with another writer about stories and endings. It’s easy to write someone going downhill because it’s easy to go downhill. People do all the time. It takes effort not to. But whether you write about someone’s rise or fall, only a satisfied audience creates a hit, that is,…
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Do you take care of yourself? It’s important no matter who you are or what you do, but it’s also important for the writing itself. Your writing will do better if you the writer get enough sleep, some exercise, some snuggles or hugs, and time to daydream and ‘refill the well’ as Julia Cameron put…
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In reflecting on my trip to Kenya, I’ve noticed a change and that is wanting to be in action. It would help explain why I’m a bit stuck in my writing as well. To prevent or get over writer’s block, it helps to do something. The what doesn’t matter as much as the doing. It…
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Are you stuck in the doldrums and cannot finish your book? Welcome to the club. I don’t know a novelist who doesn’t get bored, fed up, finds the energy is gone, etc. in the middle of a novel, not to mention sick to death of the thing after going over it repeatedly in the rewrite process.…
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You’re probably familiar with verbal tics – we all have them to an extent and they are part of what makes a person’s speech unique. Lately, I’ve met a number of people in a wide variety of settings using the word yeah repeated three times in quick succession (part of a movie or TV show I’ve missed?)…
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Last weekend, I attended the New York Pitch Conference. Just so you all know, I was terrified beforehand and that was after years of putting myself in situations where I had to pitch! I (mostly) got over myself via Women in Film back when I was part of a production services business. They had monthly…
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While trying to decide whether to go see a play (Burn This in Los Angeles), I read in one of the reviews, “…the production ‘doesn’t agitate from an essence.’” A great phrase that the reviewer borrowed from a friend. Most writing instructors find a way to say the same thing – and it’s related to…
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Pet peeve – being introduced as a novelist and promptly called a liar. I don’t know who thought this was cute to begin with (I’m lookin’ at you, Albert Camus), but I’m taking issue with it. Merriam-Webster defines a lie as 1. A false statement deliberately presented as being true; a falsehood. 2. Something meant to…
Diane Sherlock 
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