Writers Must Live...Like Hemingway

I'm wearing a baseball cap. Shot a boar!

Ernest Hemingway was a man's man. He went on safari. He was a deep-sea fisherman. He loved adventure. Writers are often told to write what you know. If you do not live, you don't know much. Adventure in life is a writer's best muse. 

Recently, I had the opportunity to go wild boar hunting. I did it. I shot on my first try a boar. Did I ever think I'd go boar hunting? No... but as a writer... I knew I had to embrace it. 

My advice... Try new things... 

Writing Prompt: Is Air Conditioning Making Us Weak?

Scanning the headlines today at Dallasnews.com and I came across this opinion piece: Is air conditioning making us weak? Well, What if it is? What's it say about our future as a species? Write a 1,000-word short exploring that possibility.

Are Angels Real?

Well... I think so. 

Anybody else think so? 

I've been reading a lot lately. 

Skeptics deny anything that can't be proven. 

So... it makes it hard to determine an answer. 

Are You Using All Five Layers Of Characterization?

In my freshman college writing classes, I ask my students to understand 10 literary terms and identify them in the readings we go through during the term. 

Those basic terms are theme, protagonist, antagonist, character, characterization, conflict, image, symbol, setting, and dialogue. I ask them to read my Mall Demons Urban Fantasy Series, as well as, The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. 

As a literary element, characterization is a powerful tool for writers. I'm convinced that readers will love your story if they understand and appreciate your characters. Readers can't understand or appreciate your characters if you don't do the work to fully characterize them. 

Here are five layers of characterization to help you flesh out your characters whether they are protagonists, antagonists or supporting characters.

First of all, characterization is how you, the writer, describe or develop your characters. The five layers to do that are to show the character's appearance, describe the character's actions, reveal the character's thoughts, allow the character to speak, and display how other characters react to the said character.

What does all that look like? My next blog will provide examples.

Latest From Daniel - A Mall Demons Character Journal

Here's the latest from Daniel, the main character in my Mall Demons Urban Fantasy Series (To follow Daniel's Journal, subscribe to the Pheed):

Nobody can see Evangeline and Watcher in their spiritual form because they apparently exist outside of our reality. It's like another dimension. Evangeline says I'm special because I felt them at my bed. Just couldn't see them. Come to think of it, I had a weird feeling when I was sitting outside the mall yesterday. I also felt it at the restaurant and walking home. Think I'll ask them about it. © 2013 pheed.com/Daniel1

2 Ways To Raise Money For A Good Cause

OK. Here's a departure from my writing-focused blog entries.

But, this is good. Every writer should believe in something and get involved in the community to help their neighbors. So....I've decided to raise money for a cause.

Being a writer, I know human nature. Many of us really don't want to be bothered by solicitors. Yet, I figured there are two commodities most of us are willing to let go of without much haggling: used beverage cans and pennies.

So my family is knocking on doors asking for cans and pennies to help send out missionaries across the U.S. and the world. Our preliminary goal is to raise $2,000 by April 2. Seems reasonable. 

Now, the great thing about this blog is that I do have a PayPal button that you can use to make a donation if you want to support our effort. Donate a penny, a dime, a quarter or more. We are sending everything to our effort to send out missionaries.

If you have any questions, send me a note. 

The 2 Must-Have Qualities For Writing Success

In my effort to read 75 books this year, I just picked up two books from my local library: "letters to a young journalist," by Samuel G. Freedman and "Letters To A Young Novelist," by Mario Vargas Llosa.

I decided to start Freedman's book first. Logic behind it: I worked as a journalist for more than a dozen years before working on my current project - seven modern fantasy novels I call the Mall Demons Series.

I reached Page 7 of Freedman's book when I came across a sentence that forced me to re-read. The number seven has always been my lucky number, and it is considered a number of spiritual perfection in the Bible. I know, I digress. But I believe today of all days was the day to begin reading this book and come across this sentence because I just witnessed it in action in the classroom and was pleased. 

The sentence lauded two qualities above another for achieving excellence. For me, considering my experience in the writing classes I've taught during the last few years, these two qualities are the ones my most successful students have possessed. What is funny is that some of my best students have confessed to me after the first day of class that they "hate writing," or "have never been any good at writing." 

However, they possessed these two must-have qualities that helped them, by the end of the term, achieve writing success. The great thing about these two must-have qualities is that anybody can cultivate them. So, back to Freedman's book.

In this section of the book, Freedman shares about his experience as a first-time professor at Columbia University. In his discussion of that first class, Freedman says this: "I was affirmed in my belief that intellectual curiosity and a relentless work ethic matter infinitely more than natural ability in achieving excellence."

I did a double take. Yes! "Intellectual curiosity and a relentless work ethic." These are the two qualities my best writing students have possessed. I have had students who seemed to possess a natural ability to tell a compelling story. But many failed the course because they couldn't complete the work.

I was inspired today by one of my students who turned in a draft early. This student confessed early on in the term that "writing was not her thing." While the class took a quiz, I pulled out my orange pen and marked up the pages she gave me. I didn't spare one sentence. But I knew she would appreciate my meticulousness. All term she has examined and highlighted the writing textbook, asked question after question, and submitted draft after draft for my approval. On a few occasions she sent me e-mailed drafts hoping for an immediate response. "Before next class." All this from a student who admits she doesn't like writing.

Intellectual curiosity. Relentless work ethic.

After the quiz, I returned the draft to my student. Her eyes widened for a second at the sight of all the orange marks on her paper. Then she asked questions. "What does this mean?" "How do I fix this?" And then she said something that made me very happy. I forget her exact words, but it was something like, "It'll be great when I can get back a paper that has no orange marks on it."

That made my day.

Do you want to be a writer? Ask yourself: "Do I possess these two qualities?" Intellectual curiosity. Relentless work ethic. If not, cultivate them now.