Search found 156 matches
- Fri Nov 21, 2014 11:54 am
- Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
- Topic: Scripture referencing
- Replies: 6
- Views: 6567
Re: Scripture referencing
Just popping in to comment on this. Never reference the scripture in the body of fiction. It immediately breaks the fiction connection with the reader. In other words, it subconsciously gets in the way of the story. If you feel it necessary, give a list of the scriptures at the end of the book, cha...
- Sat Nov 15, 2014 9:53 am
- Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
- Topic: Be a Better Writer -- ACTION/ADVENTURE
- Replies: 16
- Views: 19515
Re: Be a Better Writer -- ACTION/ADVENTURE
I think the Challenge entry of mine that most closely fits the Action/Adventure genre is the one I wrote for the topic "Light At the End of the Tunnel." This entry placed 3rd in Advanced and 15th overall. http://www.faithwriters.com/wc-article-level3-previous.php?id=47645 Poland seems to h...
- Fri Nov 07, 2014 3:40 pm
- Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
- Topic: Be a Better Writer -- TRAVELOGUE
- Replies: 15
- Views: 17125
Re: Be a Better Writer -- TRAVELOGUE
Thanks, Jan!
- Fri Nov 07, 2014 2:21 pm
- Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
- Topic: Be a Better Writer -- TRAVELOGUE
- Replies: 15
- Views: 17125
Re: Be a Better Writer -- TRAVELOGUE
I have two questions. 1) Can the travelogue be written in the present tense? 2) For this challenge, you should attempt to communicate the essence of some place where you have traveled, so that a reader who has never been there can experience it, if only vicariously. What if the author has a one trac...
- Mon Oct 20, 2014 9:17 am
- Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
- Topic: Be a Better Writer -- SCIENCE FICTION
- Replies: 33
- Views: 27524
Re: Be a Better Writer -- SCIENCE FICTION
Thanks, Jan!
Cinnamon Bear
Cinnamon Bear
- Mon Oct 20, 2014 7:35 am
- Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
- Topic: Be a Better Writer -- SCIENCE FICTION
- Replies: 33
- Views: 27524
Re: Be a Better Writer -- SCIENCE FICTION
My opinion would be to avoid going down that heaven/dream track, and to be honest, when it comes to dream stories generally, avoid them like plague. They usually raise red flags with the judges and are a turn off for many readers. What if the M.C. thinks that what he/she is experiencing is a dream-...
- Sat Oct 18, 2014 9:57 pm
- Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
- Topic: Be a Better Writer -- FANTASY
- Replies: 17
- Views: 18322
Re: Be a Better Writer -- FANTASY
I am interested in how entries featuring ghosts or vampires would be viewed. My question might also apply to witches, but I don't have any ideas for entries featuring witches at the moment. :) As I see it, vampires are merely folkloric icons. Regarding ghosts, I thought that they were meant to be al...
- Sat Oct 18, 2014 3:25 pm
- Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
- Topic: Be a Better Writer -- SCIENCE FICTION
- Replies: 33
- Views: 27524
Re: Be a Better Writer -- SCIENCE FICTION
This entry is entitled "The Day the Earth Stood Still": http://www.faithwriters.com/wc-article-level4-previous.php?id=48704 It was inspired by an old Gary Larson cartoon. Superficially, it resembles many other tales about aliens landing on earth. Scientists claim that there is an excellent...
- Thu Oct 02, 2014 12:29 pm
- Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
- Topic: Be a Better Writer--FREE VERSE #1
- Replies: 20
- Views: 20802
Re: Be a Better Writer--FREE VERSE
Thanks for your replies, Jan. I am not sure why I wrote the poem in second person. Maybe I had been influenced by something I read at the time. I normally dislike writing--or reading--in second person. Regarding the last line: I frequently rode the New York City subways with friends who were also da...
- Wed Oct 01, 2014 10:01 pm
- Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
- Topic: Be a Better Writer--FREE VERSE #1
- Replies: 20
- Views: 20802
Re: Be a Better Writer--FREE VERSE
Now that I have finished my rant about free verse, I will post one of my very few efforts in this genre. I wrote it for a college freshman writing course. I was living in New York City and dating a man at the NY Maritime College (popularly known as Fort Schuyler). I'm not sure how I got an "A&q...
- Wed Oct 01, 2014 9:47 pm
- Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
- Topic: Be a Better Writer--FREE VERSE #1
- Replies: 20
- Views: 20802
Re: Be a Better Writer--FREE VERSE
Questions #2 and #3: When I write poetry, it is nearly always rhymed and metered, but I don’t feel any animosity towards free verse. I just think it is very difficult to do well. A poem with rhythm and rhyme can be at least passably entertaining. But it is not enough for free verse to be good--it mu...
- Fri Sep 19, 2014 7:41 pm
- Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
- Topic: Be a Better Writer--USING IMAGERY
- Replies: 50
- Views: 56386
Re: Be a Better Writer--USING IMAGERY
Jan, thanks for your interest. Some folks believe that those of us who hoped for Scottish independence are old-fashioned romantics, imagining Scotland to be all oatmeal, tartans, and bagpipes. Nothing could be further from the truth. For myself, I lived in Scotland for two years--long enough to lear...
- Fri Sep 19, 2014 6:54 pm
- Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
- Topic: Be a Better Writer--USING IMAGERY
- Replies: 50
- Views: 56386
Re: Be a Better Writer--USING IMAGERY
Sorry, I'm posting so late. Until last night, I thought I'd be posting in a very different tone. Alas, it was not to be. So instead of the celebration of Scottish independence that I hoped for, I ended up writing a lament: Fear Triumphs Over Hope The scones have turned to sawdust; The tartan’s gone ...
- Sat Aug 30, 2014 11:45 am
- Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
- Topic: Be a Better Writer--DEALING WITH NEGATIVE CRITIQUE
- Replies: 48
- Views: 56887
Re: Be a Better Writer--DEALING WITH NEGATIVE CRITIQUE
...Criticism leaves me defensive. Especially unwarranted criticism, in which my Canadian spelling of a word is bashed. Or a foreign word I've used, entirely understandable in its context, or so I think, based on the positive comments. I read once that a writer should not "dumb down" their...
- Sat Aug 23, 2014 9:09 pm
- Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
- Topic: Be a Better Writer--TINY POEMS
- Replies: 17
- Views: 21213
Re: Be a Better Writer--TINY POEMS
Jan, thanks for your kind words. Yes, I love cats--thanks for the cat haiku.
Cinnamon Bear
Cinnamon Bear