Tagged: monthly columnist

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Writing Tips

Fall Forward by Nevada McPherson

The weather has just turned cooler where I live and with it I notice the light in the afternoon has a different quality. In the summer heat it’s difficult to imagine these brisk, golden days will ever arrive and when they finally do I greet them with joy and a renewed sense of purpose.

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Writing Tips

Get More from Your Settings by Kay Keppler

Have you ever picked up a book and read back cover copy that sent shivers down your spine? You know what I mean: stories located in a peaceful country garden filled with sweetpeas and butterflies, or the brooding castle that bristles with medieval weaponry—these are the settings that tell you what adventures lie in store.

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Writing Tips

Edit in Color by Catharine Bramkamp

You are probably familiar with the coloring book craze, which as writers we are allowed to view with irony and in some cases, despair. I have avoided even leafing through the coloring books for sale next to the real books filled with words partially because of that irony thing, mostly because I don’t have time to color. I also don’t have the time to meditate , take a yoga class, shop for healthy food or call mom.

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Writing Tips

Sing Your Own Kind of Music–Always by Nevada McPherson

I recently saw the film Florence Foster Jenkins, starring Meryl Streep in the title role. It’s about the New York heiress and socialite who loved music with a passion and supported musical productions with her patronage. She herself also sang—badly. Surrounded by a coterie of friends who complimented her singing and encouraged her, she performed private recitals and developed a devoted cult following.

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Writing Tips

Affordable Standing Tips and Tricks to get off the Couch by Chloe Adler

As writers we may be sitting too much. We know there are options but we can’t quite make the leap. We hear about standing and writing but can’t afford a standing desk. We hear about the great standing treadmill. The balance board. They all sound fantastic but we either 1. Can’t get ourselves off the couch or 2. Look at the daunting price tags for every item or the space they would take up in our tiny house.

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Writing Tips

A Writer’s Treat: The Retreat by Jami Gray

Ah, the scent of wood smoke and rain tells me another year is gearing up for the fall and it’s time for a well-earned break. You know the kind, the type you use to reward yourself for surviving another round of new projects, writer conferences, pitch sessions, the merry-go-round of queries, new releases, and the never-ending whirlwind of life in general.

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Writing Tips

Once You Start, Where Do You Stop? by Nevada McPherson

Greetings! Hope your summer reading and writing projects are coming along nicely. If you’ve been busy with other summer activities you’ve still got a few weeks to read a novel or two or to pen a rough draft before fall arrives. I’ve personally been in the process of moving into a new apartment and am only now getting to some projects I’ve been planning.

Impressions: A Game of Details by Wyatt Bessing 0

Writing Tips

Impressions: A Game of Details by Wyatt Bessing

In her book Thinking About Memoir, Abigail Thomas reminds us: “Details. Specifics. Eliminate all abstract nouns.” Of course, this rule holds true for writing fiction as much as memoir. Whatever you write, use specific details to craft a full, believable world.

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