A couple months ago, I wrote a post about writing relatable characters, where I said readers connect most with characters when the characters interact with the story. I want to expand on that today. Characters have (or should have) personalities. Some authors even create big, detailed charts outlining every detail of their characters – looks, intelligence,…
Have you seen this movie yet? If not, go see it. Do it now. I’ll wait. Because I may or may not post spoilers. It’s probably trendy to write posts about the movie right now, but I don’t care. I have thoughts about it. Thoughts that I think will help parents and teachers make the most…
Last week, the husband and I decided two things: 1. Our deck looks like crap, and 2. If we put forth a little effort and money, we can make it look less like crap. We suspect the deck was constructed by the previous owner. Nothing was pre-fabricated, including the lattice. Imagine two finishing nails at…
Have you looked at a picture of yourself, and you swear you don’t look like that? That’s because we generally have an inaccurate perception of ourselves. Part of it is because our mirror images are always reversed. I think the rest has something to do with the inability to control the elements around us. Like…
In clicking over to read this post, you’re probably wondering what the difference between an A/B and a B/A is. I’ll start by saying it’s more than simple word order. I had an epiphany a few weeks back whilst discussing blogging with another author. He was telling me how blogging felt like a chore, something…
This post has something for everyone. If you’ve been to the Big Island of Hawaii, you’ll relate to it. If you plan to go, you’ll get a little advice. If you’re scared of the ocean and won’t leave your landlocked haven (or if you just don’t have the desire or means to go), you’ll get…
I’m writing this post from here: For those of you keeping score, this is a beach on the big island of Hawaii. I’m not gonna lie. It’s freaking amazing. Neener neener. This time last week, I was here: This was the display at my grandma’s memorial service. What a difference a week makes. Don’t get…
When I was a kid, and the paper arrived on Sundays, I’d read it. Not just the comics, like most kids. I read the news stories, the business section, and if I was really bored, the lifestyle pages. Before I set it aside, there was one other page I would read every week: the obituary…
After reading Eclectic Alli’s post for #1000Speak for Compassion, I decided I wanted to participate in this month’s theme: connection. I’m using the term “craft” loosely for the purposes of this post. Consider it “the thing you do for fun and/or to make money”. Hopefully, whatever you do to make money also happens to be fun.…
Last week, I participated in a flash fiction challenge in which I picked two subgenres to mash together into a single short story. I did this using a random number generator and landed on dystopia and erotica. (Read it here if you’re so inclined.) Yep, erotica. As in hormones, blood rushes and naughty bits. I…
Allison Maruska 