Category: Staff Articles

Writing advice and insights from the staff of Indies Unlimited.

My Hormones Made Me Do It

Hormones. You can’t live with too many, and you can’t live without enough. Yes, my friend, without the proper hormone balance you will curl up like the feet of the Wicked Witch of the West when Dorothy removed the Ruby Slippers. Hormones are fascinating little buggers, and incredibly useful to the premenstrual writer. Sit back and enjoy the scene below as written by a woman in the grips of estrogen dominance.

I am the White Ninja.

One evening I sat at the kitchen table and watched my husband walk around the pool surveying his kingdom. Suddenly, I detested him and was determined to arrest his ability to suck in oxygen that should have rightly been mine. I imagined myself as a White Ninja, creeping stealthily up behind him, unsheathing the gleaming weapon I had sharpened only that morning. He turned, eyes widening as the swoosh of my sword smoothly sliced across his neck, decapitating him. It was a clean and perfect cut. His head bounced twice landing in the pool, the crimson clouds spreading smoothly like crimson cumulus clouds. Continue reading “My Hormones Made Me Do It”

I Mean, Dude!

Well, wouldn’t you know it, they want me to write something funny. For some reason the way we talk isn’t good enough. How come? I’m not complaining, mind, it doesn’t do any good anyhow. But, well, I could try, if the weather holds, or something like that. Then maybe I would live happily ever after. Whatever. But, oh my god, this is, like, so hard, you know? So I’m supposed to think outside the box. Yeah right. Do they even know what that means? I mean, Dude! Come on! Meh. What do I care? Anyhow, I’m giving them what they want, right? I mean, really, it’s what I have to do. Being a team player, not making waves. Seriously. Like, no way. No can do. I’m an individual, see? You know what I mean. I’m OK, you’re OK, blah, blah, blah. Same old, same old. Continue reading “I Mean, Dude!”

Venice – the ideal location for a novel

Venice makes an excellent location for a writer to put inside a work of fiction. It’s not difficult to see why this is. Selecting Venice as one of the places where action takes place when writing a novel solves a number of dilemmas that writers often face.

Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute, Venice
Santa Maria della Salute - from Wikipedia

How can a location solve a problem?

Well – writers like me try to make their readers imagine vivid scenes, lively action, interesting people and curious things. It is difficult for a reader to visualise a fictional place unless an author describes it minutely. I try to avoid lengthy descriptions, because I find it slows down the action. So how do I inject atmosphere without the words? Well – I use places like Venice. Continue reading “Venice – the ideal location for a novel”

What to do, What to do … hmmm, WRITE!

 

I’ve met a ton of great writers since joining the staff of Indies Unlimited. As I become more involved in the writing world, I realize how tough it is to keep on track with my WIP. Whenever I find myself spending less and less time writing the sequel to The Card, I go straight back to the basics.

Write SOMETHING each day.

Continue reading “What to do, What to do … hmmm, WRITE!”