Category: Article
-
Finnemore Fridays: Interdivention
Anything we humans can do, we can do a little too much of. This week, a blogger friend, Emily Randolph-Epstein, wrote a post asking for help with her tendency to hyper focus, sometimes on the wrong things. I replied in the comments, and she found it useful. Her post, and my response to it, made me think of…
-
More Castles with Emily Randolph-Epstein: My Life as a Fairy Tale Character
If you are subscribed to my monthly newsletter you’ve seen a few snapshots of Mark and me touring castles in Germany and heard what I thought about cruising. If you are not a subscriber, you can sign up here, or read the wonderful post below about someone else’s experience of the castle tour. My over-simplified…
-
Story Prompts for Non-Verbal Thinkers, Part 2
I don’t experience the same hesitation with verbal prompts that Mark does. Generally, words of any kind spring to life as pictures in my head. However “image inspiration” is one of my favorite approaches to writing prompts. When Mark wanted to offer tips about what works for him, I knew I could jump in with…
-
Finnemore Friday: Narrative Protection
This is still a blog about writing and narrating, so this week let’s talk about those things. I have a book to narrate that is set in England, filled with British characters. Listening to John Finnemore and his team makes me slightly less terrified as I consider prepping for the job. They are amazing examples…
-
Story Prompts For Non-Verbal Thinkers, Part 1
This week’s guest post is courtesy of Mark Bessey. Mark is renowned among his acquaintances as a teller of funny stories. Lucky for us, he has finally decided to write them down. He blogs about software issues at Another Day in The Code Mines. It’s accepted wisdom, maybe even a truism, that writers love…
-
Melanie Marttila: The Writing Excuses Retreat, part 2
Occasionally, the beauty of travel is that it makes you appreciate what you have at home. Like when you travel 5,603 miles to Copenhagen Denmark to see the same statue – literally the same design – that sits about 33 miles away from your house. Here she is in Copenhagen: Our guide told us she is…
-
Finnemore Friday: The New Edition Sketch
I traveled this summer, asking a lot of people I had just met if they were John Finnemore Fans. “Who?” Was the most frequent reply. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED! Everyone should be listening to John Finnemore. Unless you have listened and didn’t like him, in which case, I ask, “Are you sure? Really sure? Go on, have another go.”…
-
This Is My Stop
My husband and I took the U Bahn out of Vienna to a friend’s home in the suburbs. Figuring out transportation abroad can be a tricky puzzle. Careful observation of locals’ behavior and familiar hints like a word that starts with “halt” helped us figure out that this button was a “Stop Request,” before having…
-
Melanie Martilla: The Writing Excuses Baltic Cruise, part 1
Melanie and I began in different places, but after our different planes landed in Hamburg, we were pretty much waiting the same lines, riding the same busses, and for sure in the same boat. Her experiences will give you a clear idea of what I was up to in the same places and at the…