You may know the old story, "The Fox and the Goat:" Prologue: A fox fell into a well and couldn't get out on his own. He swam there for a while making plans... 5 hours later: A goat was walking through the farm, just minding his own business eating a shirt, when the fox called to him from inside the… Continue reading Friday Fable: the Writer and the Missing Links
Category: writing
Friday Fable: The Writer and the Word Limit
You may have heard the old story, The Crow and the Pitcher: A crow was nearly dead of thirst when he spied a pitcher of water on a picnic table just beside the dried-up river bed. He flew over and tried to take a sip but, alas, the pitcher was close to empty. Only an inch… Continue reading Friday Fable: The Writer and the Word Limit
He Said/ She Sighed Part 3 – Enough Already!
Here’s one last rant sparked by a “how to write fiction” book that advised using “said/say” as the only dialogue verb (as in, "'I spent thirty dollars on jelly beans at Mont Tremblant this weekend,' she said.") (That is a true statement, sadly. They fool you with the $2.99/100g sign. I still think in pounds. "Grab a bag each,"… Continue reading He Said/ She Sighed Part 3 – Enough Already!
He Said/She Sighed Part 2
I grabbed twenty books from the living room shelf, opened each to a random page, and checked out all the verbs used in dialogue. And here is what I learned: Almost all the authors used a simple “said” at least half the time. But none of them used said all the time. None. Not one.… Continue reading He Said/She Sighed Part 2
He Said/She Sighed – Part One
I dislike lists of rules for writing fiction. There are many good writers whose work I can’t stand. And many books I’ve loved that were obviously flawed. I would not advise anyone to make a paint-by-number novel. Big picture rules are good, like: A book should spend more words on important scenes and fewer words… Continue reading He Said/She Sighed – Part One
Catherine Austen 