READING ALOUD HELPS catch those pesky typos and shifts in verb tense. That’s obvious. What if there’s a deeper meaning to crooning your fiction across the dining room table? I thought I would dig a little deeper and explain why I like to read my drafts aloud. The word “writing” for me regarding fiction often […]
Archives for December 2013
The Art Of Productive Procrastination
WHENEVER I’M ANXIETY RIDDEN and just can’t seem to start or finish an important project, I try to practice what I call “productive procrastination.” It happens when I know that binging on countless hours of Netflix or reality television will shackle me with so much guilt, I have to force myself to do clean the […]
Why Comedy Tweets Are Good For Writers
HADN’T REALIZED I’D TWEETED forty or so times about talking to my novel. Sure it’s a far cry from the 935 tweets that make up Small Places (Twitter novel I tweeted between 2008-2010. Read some on The Nervous Breakdown). Me: You like being a second draft? Novel: I don’t feel as crazy-eyed. Now what? Me: […]
What Does It Mean To Writers When An Indie Bookstore Closes?
RUSSO’S BOOKS, perhaps the only independent bookstore left in California’s Central Valley, is closing in a little more than a week. Some people say it sucks. Others have an “oh well” attitude. But what does the indie bookstore’s impending doom mean to writers? It’s a little premature to say the Bakersfield bookstore is going away. […]
An Account Of The Invisible Memoirs Reading
“IT WAS GREAT TO see students stepping up and helping out,” writer Jane Hawley said of Kimberly Navarro, the host for “Reading the Invisible Memoirs,” a fundraiser and event for Random Writers Workshop and the release of the anthology, “Invisible Memoirs: Lionhearted.” What would I have done without Kimberly as emcee on Friday the 13th? […]
Storytellers To Recount Experiences At Memoir Event
FOR THE SECOND TIME, Invisible Memoirs has selected a Bakersfield author’s story as its centerpiece, even naming the California-wide anthology after a local memoir. Why I am I excited about this? As the workshop instructor and initial editor of everyone’s submissions, I’m just so happy all of my students’ hard work paid off. Twelve local […]