Blog Feed: NoReasonWhatsoever

It's Complicated...Or Is It?

Published on 2011-06-30 23:04:00

Warrior. That's what the Cowardly Lion is in comparison with me last week. I'd been hiding from my manuscript since that Monday. More than one hundred pages into a four hundred page rewrite, and I choked - scared off by this one scene. I had outlined

Master of the Game

Published on 2011-06-23 23:11:00

Pounding through the perpetually damp sand, he closed in on the halfway point of his daily six mile run. He craved the adrenaline rush that came from punishing physical exertion; pushing himself to beat his best time. The landmark boulder near the so

The Glass Box

Published on 2011-06-16 23:35:00

'The glass box' he had called it when they were together. Glass box in the sky. Her twenty-fourth floor condo with views all the way out to the eastern coast; and to the south, past the edge of the city. She'd furnished it to her taste, but to his si

At Sea

Published on 2011-06-09 21:05:00

She hadn't been the one. It was that simple. His second breakup this year, and there were still almost four months to go. The time span of his relationships was shrinking - as was the amount of his patience. It was always the same problem - his probl

Spazzing Cats...Pun Intended

Published on 2011-06-02 23:22:00

Without a doubt, Kimba - our semi long-haired stray cat, was the most nervous animal I'd ever met. It had nothing to do with hot tin roofs; she just couldn't adjust to surprises. Her earlier life was a mystery; she adopted us when she was fully grown

Obstinacy, Lunacy, Prologuecy?

Published on 2011-05-26 23:34:00

Consider a clear, still mountain pool. Beautiful, isnt it? A disturbance - maybe a passing automobile - causes a rock to slide down the mountain side, hit a ledge and bounce into the water. Immediately, there are easily discernible ripples from the p

I'm A Versatile Blogger! Um...What's That?

Published on 2011-05-19 21:50:00

I've preempted my regularly scheduled post for some news: Woo hoo - I'm a Versatile Blogger! Need proof? Here's my award:Versatile Blogger Award This recognition of my versatility as a blogger was awarded to me by Anne Stormont, who has als

Blindsided

Published on 2011-05-05 23:15:00

It's impossible to know everything about a person. But we've been friends for the past few years and I thought I knew her fairly well. We'd spent so much time together; evenings, weekends, and those very rare days off. Very accomplished in her career

5 ways writing flash fiction can help you finish your novel

Published on 2011-04-28 23:09:00

Guest Post by a.e.TyreeWhen a writing teacher first suggested I write Flash Fiction, I thought she was crazy. Write a complete story in under 1000 words with a compelling setting, interesting characters, a conflict and resolution. Impossible!But when

reticulating swarms

Published on 2011-04-21 22:59:00

A Guest Post by James Whitakerdoesn’t say he loves youtill you’re half over the fencethen he whispers softly in your earbut you don’t trust the intentthe cycle repeatsbroken resolutionsdigging down deepblunting your expectationswith every pr

Where the ?@!*@?#! Is It?

Published on 2011-04-14 23:31:00

--------------First, a note: -------------------------I've been honored to be able to share posts from Guest Authors during the past three weeks. I'd like to continue to share voices of published and aspiring writers, poets, and screenwriters that I'

The Wife Returns – a story of literary polygamy

Published on 2011-04-07 23:16:00

Guest Post by William H. JohnsonIn January 2010, I wrote a blog post called Back Pocket Mistress – story of literary infidelity. It was about how, after a turbulent love affair riddled with differences that seem irreconcilable, I abandoned a long t

Living To Write

Published on 2011-03-31 22:58:00

Guest Post by Anne StormontLike Cathryn, and many of you who read her blog, I too am a writer. I don’t earn my living by writing, but I am a writer. I’m a fifty-something Scot living in Skye. I’ve been married for over thirty years and have two

Inspiration's Mystery

Published on 2011-03-24 22:58:00

Guest Post by Kathryn MagendieEvery year the butterflies come. The very first time I saw them, I thought something was wrong, that somehow the butterflies were disoriented and ended up at the bottom of our gravel driveway by accident. But then, th

O! The Big D

Published on 2011-03-17 23:06:00

Not my Big Distraction - that's an entirely different story. It's my Big Decision. The one I've ignored for as long as I could. It's time to answer the question. Am I writing a series - or not? The fictional Skye Pointe community and its residents st

Dauntless Dancing

Published on 2011-03-10 23:06:00

It's finally happening. I'm at the end of preparing for rewrite. I celebrated early, dancing around until I was dizzy(er). After all, this past Mardi was Gras. Inevitably, Mercredi des Cendres rolled in; bringing clarity and sobriety. I was forced to

Time... For A Showdown

Published on 2011-03-03 23:21:00

Hello...hello...hellooo... Where are you...are you...yooou... Echoes resounded from the void in my timeline. I'd been so focused on tightly winding the action that I'd overlooked the leap from Sunday morning to Monday morning. Sunday afternoon and ev

Rockin' The Board! Story or Planchette?

Published on 2011-02-24 22:52:00

November 16, 2010. The day I began the revision outline for the novel that is becoming Sparks. By the very next week I knew that while an outline is a must, it doesn't give me the level of detail that I need. So I added a storyboard to my revision ar

Foils & Finesse @ Forty

Published on 2011-02-17 23:24:00

More bloody red ink, spewing endlessly while I cut, chop, whack. This time I've gone after the characters. After all the gore, about forty fictional people have survived. They are the community of the heroine and hero; the other protagonists, the ant

Red Ink Blues

Published on 2011-02-10 22:13:00

Now that I've eliminated my intrusive voice, coaxed the plots and subplots to play nicely together, gotten control of pacing, and overcome my hesitance with love scenes, it's time to complete the set of revision artifacts (outline and scene notes) fo

Sparks, Zazzle and Taking the Leap

Published on 2011-02-03 23:36:00

This post started off as a note at the end of my weekly post. The note kept getting longer, demanding a post of it's own. It has to do with the new bling on my right sidebar.It's a personality trait of mine that I take a leap and then look around to

Not That Into It and the Battle Beyond

Published on 2011-01-27 23:43:00

My biggest nemesis - the love scene. I interrupted my progress this week, working myself into a snit about it. The way my story is written, the scenes have to be hot and passionate; expressing the love between two strong, independent people. The prob

Hairpins and Curves

Published on 2011-01-20 23:48:00

Flying down the freeway one cool June morning, we laughed and talked, enjoying each other's company. It was my first trip through the mountains to his favorite beach. He decided to take the scenic route and turned off onto a beautifully picturesque t

Eye of the Beholder

Published on 2011-01-13 22:59:00

It was one of the nights that I spend with other parents who have also accompanied their children to ballet classes. Sometimes there's conversation, sometimes we've brought something to work on, sometimes both. For me, it's always both - I try never

A Tale of Two Scenes...and Chocolate

Published on 2011-01-06 22:23:00

Zipping merrily along through my revision outline; making great progress. In the zone, every thought had a home. And then...I rounded a blind curve and had to skid to a brain locking stop. Hit an obstacle. Makes me crazy when that happens. Actually,

Zero, One...And Counting

Published on 2010-12-29 23:44:00

Yes - I know it's customary to count down to the new year, and no - I'm not counting the wrong way. I'm saying goodbye to 2010, - or as I've come to think of it - my year zero; and saying hello to my year one. It will be my ferst furst first ful

It's here! ROW80 is here! Round 1 Goals - CathrynLouis

Published on 2010-12-28 20:45:00

I'm tackling a thorough revision of my debut novel, and have been developing the revision outline since mid-November. It's a scene-by-scene revision of a 400 page manuscript - and it's my first. So naturally, completing the outline is taking longer t

One, Two, Three - One, Two, Three... Ssshhh!

Published on 2010-12-23 19:26:00

During revision, silkscreening is one thing; constructing a scene is quite another. The complexity of my current WIP makes the process more an intricate choreography than a construction. We know that the basis of scene choreography is the Holy Quarte

Irony - Not Pumpkins

Published on 2010-12-16 19:24:00

Something challenged me last Friday. Well, that's probably an understatement. It actually brought out the worst in me. I'm pressuring myself to meet a self-imposed deadline. I flew into a snit and ultimately stomped away from my desk, banging the doo

Ya Talkin' Ta Me?

Published on 2010-12-08 22:15:00

Someone asked me - earnestly, sincerely - for my thoughts on writing a book. My first reaction was - who me? I've not yet commercially published my first novel. What thoughts am I qualified to share?If someone were to ask for my thoughts on software