Tag: Writing

Ed’s Casual Friday. Book v. Movie, Steel-Cage Death Match

This is another in an ongoing series of Ed’s Casual Friday posts wherein I cogitate about a topic and offer some opinion, along with what is going to sound like advice. Let me first fully acknowledge that I subscribe to the “Different Strokes” school of literary advice, inasmuch as “What might be right for you, may not be right for some.” So just keep that in mind before you feel the need to tell me that I’m full of dookie, Willis. 😉

Our topic today, Is the Book Always Better than the Movie? To which I respond, that’s like asking if the peanut butter sandwich is always better than the sonnet, as I believe they are two totally different forms to such an extent that the question is largely meaningless. Continue reading “Ed’s Casual Friday. Book v. Movie, Steel-Cage Death Match”

The Reader’s Ear

I have always been interested in the peculiarities of speech. The ways in which people pronounce or use certain words or phrases, their verbal tics and mannerisims, their accents—it all intrigues me.

We are often told that when writing dialogue, we should write the way people speak. This is supposed to lend authenticity to your dialogue and keep it from sounding stilted. A lot of authors address this by sprinkling in swear words, because “That’s how people really talk.” Okay… Continue reading “The Reader’s Ear”

Following the Cookie Crumbs

I have finally finished my planning for Betwixt and am now entering my favorite part of this journey – writing the first draft!

It is so fun to get absorbed in the story. I find myself thinking about it throughout the day, writing constant notes as I go – ways to improve a scene, or a line of dialogue that will set something up for a future scene.

That’s what I want to talk about today. The set-up. Continue reading “Following the Cookie Crumbs”

No More Professional Writers?

On July 26 the Globe and Mail, Canada’s most respected newspaper, devoted two-thirds of the front page and half of the second page of their Globe Arts section to the article. ‘There will be no more professional writers in the future’ (their punctuation) Naturally, I was most interested. It came on the heels of a similar article in the Guardian. Other rags posted on the same topic. I got the impression they all timed their diatribes together for greatest impact. The purpose, as I see it – war on self-publishing and a (futile) reactionary attempt to save the old guard. Continue reading “No More Professional Writers?”