I've discussed reading habits before and why you really want to read good books, but how, as a writer, you may have to read professionally some books you don't enjoy. But today, I want to urge you to not forget the values of a bad book. I'm not meaning a book that's grammatically-cringe-worthy, that has … Continue reading Why a Bad Book can be a Good Read
Tag: Humor
This morning, I was awoken to the sounds of saws and dump trucks as road construction continued just outside. And it got me thinking: if you could pick your neighbor, you should always go with a writer. Writers are quiet. When we're building something, all you're hear is a clatter (along with a few incoherent grumbles … Continue reading Ten Reasons Why Writers Make Good Neighbors
I knit bugs into your sweater 'Cuz you are such a pest. I knit bugs into your sweater, You seem to like them best. I know you won't see them, Or even know they're there. But when you wear it I'll smile, And you'll think it's 'cuz I care. They flew into my webbing And … Continue reading Bugs
I was going to write about novels under "N," but I also wanted to cover "Networking," so I'm going to talk about the novel under "Making a Novel." The novel, as we know it now, has been evolving for centuries and will likely continue to do so. It began in such forms as Tom Jones and Pamela, in … Continue reading Making a Novel #atozchallenge #amwriting
Finding pictures for this post was tricky, because how can you show laughter? How can you depict a joke? What's funny to one person may disgust or fail to delight another, and some jokes require a certain frame of mind, a certain expectation of how the world works, or even fluency in a certain language … Continue reading Jests, Jokes, and Japes: How to Add Humor to Your Writing #atozchallenge #writer
I'm not going to say that blogging can make you famous, give you a new career, or change your life (though it probably can...at least theoretically?). But, having blogged fairly steadily for the last two years, I know that it can change how you write. Suddenly, you can use the hashtag #amwriting all the time, … Continue reading Why You Should Blog #atozchallenge #amwriting
It's a topic that, in real life, we think about more than we'd like to admit: how much we make, how much we can spend, and how we can make more money all has a place in our thoughts. (And if we're being completely honest, we'd have to say that making money from writing is … Continue reading Do Your Characters Worry About Money?
I knit September into your scarf, The cool nights, the warm days. The sun over my shoulder Dancing through the leaves. I knit September into your scarf, The school bells, the rainstorms, The wind sending down torrents Of needles like hail. I knit September into your scarf, The harvest moon, the perfect sunshine, … Continue reading I Knit September into Your Scarf
I’ve been writing quite a bit about Anna Karenina lately, since I have been reading it over the last month and a half. Amidst the drama, turmoil, and politics, here are seven pieces of practical wisdom to be found from the pages of the great classic (roughly in order of the plot). Don’t talk with … Continue reading Practical Wisdom from Anna Karenina
Last year, I read a lot of older works of fiction, like Can You Forgive Her by Anthony Trollope and Scaramouche by Raphael Sabbatini. I also read a few more modern works, like The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton, and excerpts from “modern classics” in the writing books, Reading Like A Writer and Revision. And … Continue reading They Were Sexist But They Were Fun
Andrea Lundgren 