For the last seven Novembers, I've participated in NaNoWriMo. National Novel Writing Month is a frenetic November of trying to write at least 50,000 words in a novel--from scratch. On every November 1 during the previous seven years, I sat down at my computer, placed my fingers on the keyboard, and began a new novel. For … Continue reading No NaNo
Support your author friends
"I saw that book you wrote, and I almost bought it." "I walked past the bookstore and saw a poster for the book you wrote, but I didn't go inside and buy it." True quotes. People have actually said these things to authors. Maybe they genuinely couldn't afford to buy the book. Maybe they view … Continue reading Support your author friends
The End is near
During a workshop at Glen West, when someone asked Larry Woiwode how he begins a novel. He said, "Most often lately, I tend to see the ending, so I find the beginning and get to the end from there." I sighed. I'd never had that experience. In fact, most of the time I come up … Continue reading The End is near
Creator, creation, and creativity
Glen West 2013 perfectly blended creativity and community with work and worship. The tag line for Image Journal proclaims: Art, Faith, Mystery. At Glen West, those theoretical concepts became experiential realities. The high desert plateau setting of Santa Fe was new to me and played a crucial role in the entire experience. If I were talking about a novel, … Continue reading Creator, creation, and creativity
Pragmatism, inspiration, and redemption
During the fiction workshop at Glen West, the first and most frequent question instructor Larry Woiwode asked was: "Does it work?" That's the primary consideration. Either a piece of writing works or it doesn't. This may seem a rather pragmatic view, but it's crucial to establish a work's viability before going on to other important questions, … Continue reading Pragmatism, inspiration, and redemption
Telling the story eclipses intention and audience
Compressing everything I learned during my intensive Glen West workshop into brief blog posts seems impossible. But I can give you a taste through small samples. Last Friday, I focused on the first day and wrote about beginning to write by writing. Two of the many literary terms we discussed on subsequent workshop days were intention … Continue reading Telling the story eclipses intention and audience
Begin to write by writing
The post-it note centered above my computer monitor daily reminds me, "Begin to write by writing." It's a phrase that struck me during a writing course years ago. Anyone can think about writing, but you have to put your fingers on the keyboard and actually write if you want to be a writer. Readers of … Continue reading Begin to write by writing
The place of place
On this Fiction Friday, I'm thinking about the place of place. In 1956 Eudora Welty wrote a well-known essay, "Place in Fiction," that appears on pages 116-133 in the collection of her essays and reviews published as The Eye of the Story (Vintage International, 1990). The same essay is found on pages 249-264 of Critical Approaches to Fiction (McGraw-Hill, … Continue reading The place of place
Living Echoes ending
Last night, driving home after a very long day, I was praying for wisdom and guidance on a lot of things. As I prayed, the beauty of a crescent moon and its reflection on a smooth lake made my heart ache. And I suddenly realized that, in the prayer and the beauty, God had given … Continue reading Living Echoes ending
Living Echoes lives
Living Echoes, one of my current fiction WIP (Works in Progress) lives! It's been over a year since I reported on this novel's progress. The construction of alternating short "now" scenes and longer "then" scenes has made it difficult to write. But this summer I've felt compelled to finish it. Writers often talk about reaching "The … Continue reading Living Echoes lives
Glenda Faye Mathes 