Writing Is A Dangerous Undertaking

 

It is not enough merely to love literature, if one wishes to spend one’s life as a writer. It is a dangerous undertaking on the most primitive level. For, it seems to me, the act of writing with serious intent involves enormous personal risk. It entails the ongoing courage for self-discovery. It means one will walk forever on the tightrope, with each new step presenting the possibility of learning a truth about oneself that is too terrible to bear.
HARLAN ELLISON

7 Rules for Dialogue

1. Dialogue should be brief.
2. It should add to the reader’s present knowledge.
3. It should eliminate the routine exchanges of ordinary conversation.
4. It should convey a sense of spontaneity but eliminate the repetitiveness of real talk.
5. It should keep the story moving forward.
6. It should be revelatory of the speaker’s character, both directly and indirectly.
7. It should show the relationships among people.

ELIZABETH BOWEN

No Day Without A Line

It is helpful to write always at the same time of day. Scheduled obligations often raise problems, but an hour or two can almost always be found in the early morning-when the telephone never rings and no one knocks at the door. And it is important that you write something, regardless of quantity, every day. As the Romans put it, Nulla dies sine linea-No day without a line. (They were speaking of lines drawn by artists, but the rule applies as well to the writer.) As a result of all this, the setting almost automatically evokes verbal behavior. No warm-up is needed. A circadian rhythm develops that is extremely powerful. At a certain time every day, you will be highly disposed to engage in serious verbal behavior.
B.F. SKINNER

The Most Important Part of Storytelling

I think the most important part of storytelling is tension. It's the constant tension of suspense that in a sense mirrors life, because nobody knows what's going to happen three hours from now.
RICHARD CONDON

Happy First Birthday

Well my blog celebrates its first birthday today. I would like to thank all those who have visited and those that have left comments. I hope you enjoyed what you have read and here's to another year.

 Now who's for a slice of cake?

 

You Do Not Need to Leave Your Room

You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait, be quite still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet.
FRANZ KAFKA

Stories Must Have Life At The End

Life goes on, and for the sake of verisimilitude and realism, you cannot possibly give the impression of an ending: you must let something hang. A cheap interpretation of that would be to say that you must always leave a chance for a sequel. People die, love dies, but life does not die, and so long as people live, stories must have life at the end.
                                           JOHN O’HARA

Don't Be Bullied By Punctuation

When speaking aloud, you punctuate constantly—with body language. Your listener hears commas, dashes, question marks, exclamation points, quotation marks as you shout, whisper, pause, wave your arms, roll your eyes, wrinkle your brow. In writing, punctuation plays the role of body language. It helps readers hear you the way you want to be heard. Careful use of those little marks emphasizes the sound of your distinctive voice and keeps the reader from becoming bored or confused. . . . [Punctuation] exists to serve you. Don’t be bullied into serving it. 
RUSSELL BAKER

The First Draft

The only true creative aspect of writing is the first draft. That’s when it’s coming straight from your head and your heart, a direct tapping of the unconscious. The rest is donkey work. It is, however, donkey work that must be done.

EVAN HUNTER

Published in 2011

  

Serial Killers
Edited by Chris Bartholomew

Includes my short story, "Let The Party Begin".

http://www.pillhillpress.com/shoppe-static-movement.html 

 Pot Luck Flash Fiction
 Edited by Chris Bartholomew

Including  "A Child's Voice" and 'Meet For Diner?'

 http://www.pillhillpress.com/shoppe-static-movement.html

Local Heroes

Edited by Brandon L. Rucker

Including my short story, 'The Letter'

http://www.pillhillpress.com/shoppe-static-movement.html

Dark Secrets

Edited by Dorothy Davies

Including my short story "A Mistaken Identity"


http://www.pillhillpress.com/shoppe-static-movement.html

The Eleveth Hour
Edited by Daniel Kaye

Contains eleven short stories by Daniel Kaye.

ebook - https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/85666
Paperbook - http://www.amazon.com/Eleventh-Hour-collection-fiction-published/dp/146636632X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1319044131&sr=1-1

Here's to more in 2012