Female Friendships in Fiction, Part 2

Hi, kids! Our writer friend from across the pond, UK-based Stevie Carroll, is here with part 2 to her previous post, “Female Friendships in Fiction” (you can find part 1 HERE). So have a read, and chime in with your thoughts on this topic and suggestions about fiction that includes female friendships.

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TransAmericans

Hi, kids– I just watched a recent segment from MSNBC (via the blog Towleroad) in which Tulane prof/MSNBC commentator Melissa Harris-Perry does a pretty decent roundtable discussion about gender identity and politics in America (being transgender). It’s a 20-minute segment. You can catch it at this link here. It got me thinking about transgender, genderqueer, [...]

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On character

Happy Sunday, peeps– I meant to blog this earlier, but got distracted with Hunger Games hype (my take on dystopian fiction and movies here). ANYWAY! Caught this great blog by Bold Strokes writer Rebekah Weatherspoon about writing diverse characters over at her site, and that got me thinking about all the reasons writers come up [...]

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Monday musings

Or, how NCIS taught me more about characters. Hey, kids! I must admit that I did absolutely little today. That is, I ended up lying around watching TV. I suppose I needed to; as some of you know, I am recovering from surgery, so I probably needed a day on the ol’ butt to do [...]

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Bits n’ parts

Hi, all– I check Writer Unboxed blog a LOT. I mean, a super lot. Because I always find something helpful there. Today, it’s Lydia Sharp, on editing to characterization. She also lists some great things to read for authors who want to improve their fiction, including literary agent Donald Maass’ book(s). His stuff is generally [...]

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Yes, but what’s the evidence?

Hi, kids–I blogged over at my site yesterday about writing police procedurals and how a character who is a good detective needs to think about evidence. I contextualized it in terms of the recent Anthony verdict. Here’s the thing. It’s one thing to believe something happened, to have a suspicion that it happened, to just [...]

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In Character: A conversation with Chris Gutierrez

Well, howdy! How are you all? So glad to hear it! All rightie, as some of you know, I write mysteries. Currently, I’m writing what’s called The New Mexico series. But I do it a little differently than other writers might. Odd-numbered books star one character and even-numbered books star her best friend. That is, [...]

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Y is for…

YAKKIN’. Hi, folks. We’re winding down here on the alphabet month. It’s been really cool to see what my fellow writers have come up with, and how they’ve made me think about things I can do for my own writing (and heck, reading!). So thanks to everyone here in the collective for participating. And thank [...]

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Writing Crow: Part two in a four part series

Let me first mention that I’ve agreed to take part in Women and Words Alphabet Challenge starting in April. That will mean taking a break from this series. If you’re enjoying this peek into the improv world and how it might enhance your writing, look for it to return in May. Now, onto Writing Crow. [...]

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Writing Crow: the first in a four part series

You may or may not know this: My day job is running and teaching at a school of improv and solo performance called the Fun Institute. Naturally, my work in improv informs my fiction writing, and vise versa. There is such overlap. Both disciplines create whole worlds from nothing, both attempt to take the audience/readers [...]

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