In Miss Gazillions by Richard Weber (St. Martin's Press, 2005), the author offers the following description of a minor character:
"...a slight, elderly Alpine pirate in Saville Row worsted."
"His voice--as he welcomed us into his office salon, with its grand view over the Musee des Beaux Arts--was, at first, teacup-timid with deference and age, but his mahogany eyes had the 20/20 iciness of a Gestapo interrogator."
"Teacup-timid" is one of the most evocative descriptions I've read in awhile, and coupled with the rest of the description, it left a vivid image in my mind's eye.
A vivid character snapshot can keep minor characters from blurring together, and make a story more memorable. I'm filing this one in my Inspiration file!
Showing posts with label writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Le Guin Quote on Writing
Here's a quote to inspire you as you write your novel for NaNoWriMo!
"Writers have to get used to launching something beautiful and watching it crash and burn.
They also have to learn when to let go control, when the work takes off on its own and flies, farther than they ever planned or imagined, to places they didn't know they knew.
All makers must leave room for the acts of the spirit. But they have to work hard and carefully, and wait patiently, to deserve them."
Ursula LeGuin, author of the wonderful Steering the Craft:
: Exercises and Discussions on Story Writing for the Lone Navigator or the Mutinous Crew, the Earthsea Cycle, and more.
(From Dancing at the Edge of the World: Thoughts on Words, Women, Places, 1989.)
"Writers have to get used to launching something beautiful and watching it crash and burn.
They also have to learn when to let go control, when the work takes off on its own and flies, farther than they ever planned or imagined, to places they didn't know they knew.
All makers must leave room for the acts of the spirit. But they have to work hard and carefully, and wait patiently, to deserve them."
Ursula LeGuin, author of the wonderful Steering the Craft:
: Exercises and Discussions on Story Writing for the Lone Navigator or the Mutinous Crew, the Earthsea Cycle, and more.(From Dancing at the Edge of the World: Thoughts on Words, Women, Places, 1989.)
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
NaNoWriMo- Go!
Today is the start of National Novel Writing Month. It's one of the most grueling, enjoyable months of the year for writers and writer wannabes.
What is NaNoWriMo (a.k.a. NaNo)? It's the wild and crazy brainchild of a guy named Chris Baty. The goal of NaNo is for everyone who signs up to write an entire novel, defined as 50,000 words, in the month of November.
Sign-up is free and eashttp://beta.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gify at the National Novel Writing Month official website. The site also offers offers encouragement, forums, and WriMo Radio broadcasts.
Why would you want to do NaNo? It will up-end your entire month; the book you write will be rough; and you won't have any spare time to dust the refrigerator or agonize over the the leaves cluttering your front lawn.
Trust me-- you want to do NaNo for all those reasons and more. An up-ended routine can spark all sorts of creativity; a rough draft of a book is something tangible to revise (but a blank page will get you nowhere); and you probably didn't want to dust and rake anyway!
NaNo is a great English assignment for students who enjoy writing. It's a tremendous learning experience, and if it's done right, you can foster a lasting love of writing in your student. Here's what I suggest:
* Assign the writing project only if your student is interested.
* Set daily and weekly word goals so that the project is broken into manageable chunks.
* Feel free to set a lower number of required words for younger students (but you may be surprised at how motivated a ten-year-old can be).
* Do not read your student's work unless invited to do so-- just check the word count each day or week to ensure that the interim goals are being met.
* Consider writing your own NaNo book. It's fun to have someone to share the inevitable moments of frustration or triumph.
* Use the forums on the NaNoWriMo site with caution. Some threads are not suitable for students.
* Try NaNo as a co-op or group project. Misery loves company!
* Get Chris Baty's book, "No Plot, No Problem!">No Plot, No Problem! It offers a ton of helpful tips, plus a supportive message for every week of November.
So, after all that, am I going to do NaNo this year? Unfortunately, I'm not. We have a trip scheduled for two weeks in November, and there's just no way to fit an entire novel around that (though I'm sorely tempted to try!).
What I plan to do is to cheer from the sidelines, with frequent blog entries to help you make the most of this wild experience. I'll post encouraging quotes and tips on writing, plus an occasional suggestion or recipe for NaNo food. For some reason, everyone thinks they must eat in November, so from past NaNo years (and my normal life as a writer), I have a lot of ideas for making good food fast. And that's a good thing to do any month of the year!
Be sure to subscribe to the RSS feed for this blog so that you'll receive encouragement and inspiration for reading and writing, delivered hot and fresh to your desktop. And please post comments about how things are going! Bon voyage-- I wish I could could take the NaNo journey with you!
What is NaNoWriMo (a.k.a. NaNo)? It's the wild and crazy brainchild of a guy named Chris Baty. The goal of NaNo is for everyone who signs up to write an entire novel, defined as 50,000 words, in the month of November.
Sign-up is free and eashttp://beta.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gify at the National Novel Writing Month official website. The site also offers offers encouragement, forums, and WriMo Radio broadcasts.
Why would you want to do NaNo? It will up-end your entire month; the book you write will be rough; and you won't have any spare time to dust the refrigerator or agonize over the the leaves cluttering your front lawn.
Trust me-- you want to do NaNo for all those reasons and more. An up-ended routine can spark all sorts of creativity; a rough draft of a book is something tangible to revise (but a blank page will get you nowhere); and you probably didn't want to dust and rake anyway!
NaNo is a great English assignment for students who enjoy writing. It's a tremendous learning experience, and if it's done right, you can foster a lasting love of writing in your student. Here's what I suggest:
* Assign the writing project only if your student is interested.
* Set daily and weekly word goals so that the project is broken into manageable chunks.
* Feel free to set a lower number of required words for younger students (but you may be surprised at how motivated a ten-year-old can be).
* Do not read your student's work unless invited to do so-- just check the word count each day or week to ensure that the interim goals are being met.
* Consider writing your own NaNo book. It's fun to have someone to share the inevitable moments of frustration or triumph.
* Use the forums on the NaNoWriMo site with caution. Some threads are not suitable for students.
* Try NaNo as a co-op or group project. Misery loves company!
* Get Chris Baty's book, "No Plot, No Problem!
">No Plot, No Problem! It offers a ton of helpful tips, plus a supportive message for every week of November.So, after all that, am I going to do NaNo this year? Unfortunately, I'm not. We have a trip scheduled for two weeks in November, and there's just no way to fit an entire novel around that (though I'm sorely tempted to try!).
What I plan to do is to cheer from the sidelines, with frequent blog entries to help you make the most of this wild experience. I'll post encouraging quotes and tips on writing, plus an occasional suggestion or recipe for NaNo food. For some reason, everyone thinks they must eat in November, so from past NaNo years (and my normal life as a writer), I have a lot of ideas for making good food fast. And that's a good thing to do any month of the year!
Be sure to subscribe to the RSS feed for this blog so that you'll receive encouragement and inspiration for reading and writing, delivered hot and fresh to your desktop. And please post comments about how things are going! Bon voyage-- I wish I could could take the NaNo journey with you!
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Discover It! Vocabulary for SAT Prep
At a homeschool convention this summer, I met Horace G. Danner, Ph.D., Professor of Writing at University of Maryland University College. He is a linguist who has co-written with Roger Noel, Ph.D., two fascinating vocabulary resources.
My boys and I like words. We like to know where they come from, and how they came to be used as they are used in the English language (which, if you haven't noticed, is a very strange language!). Since we have had Discover It! and The English Tree of Roots, we have used them often to look up words that have puzzled us.
Discover It! presents words in 100 clusters. Each word cluster lesson is presented on two pages, beginning with a box containing the entire cluster of words with the common element highlighted. Romance cognates, words with disguised roots, relevant Latin phrases, and more are introduced, and the student is provided with interesting and memorable examples of the words in context, plus Wordextras- unique facts or constructions. There are writing tips and quotes sprinkled throughout, and periodic quizzes (with answers in the appendix). This is a unique and useful resource for vocabulary building!
The English Tree of Roots is a dictionary of English roots.http://beta.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif For example, if you wish to look up the origin of the word "letter," you find that it comes from "liter," and is related to literal, literate, and over 30 variations including uncommon words such as antiliterate, heteroliteral, obliteration, and more. Seeing words in their clusters or family groups is a terrific way to expand vocabulary!
Dr. Danner is also author of an autobiography, Out of the Cotton Fields. This inspiring story tells how reading and education helped him transcend his childhood in an alchoholic Alabama sharecropping family. He donates profits from the sale of this book to an award fund for high school students to help boost exam scores for college entrance.
For more information, visit Occoquan Books.
My boys and I like words. We like to know where they come from, and how they came to be used as they are used in the English language (which, if you haven't noticed, is a very strange language!). Since we have had Discover It! and The English Tree of Roots, we have used them often to look up words that have puzzled us.
Discover It! presents words in 100 clusters. Each word cluster lesson is presented on two pages, beginning with a box containing the entire cluster of words with the common element highlighted. Romance cognates, words with disguised roots, relevant Latin phrases, and more are introduced, and the student is provided with interesting and memorable examples of the words in context, plus Wordextras- unique facts or constructions. There are writing tips and quotes sprinkled throughout, and periodic quizzes (with answers in the appendix). This is a unique and useful resource for vocabulary building!
The English Tree of Roots is a dictionary of English roots.http://beta.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif For example, if you wish to look up the origin of the word "letter," you find that it comes from "liter," and is related to literal, literate, and over 30 variations including uncommon words such as antiliterate, heteroliteral, obliteration, and more. Seeing words in their clusters or family groups is a terrific way to expand vocabulary!
Dr. Danner is also author of an autobiography, Out of the Cotton Fields. This inspiring story tells how reading and education helped him transcend his childhood in an alchoholic Alabama sharecropping family. He donates profits from the sale of this book to an award fund for high school students to help boost exam scores for college entrance. For more information, visit Occoquan Books.
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