-
Carol S. Mann
Category Archives: fiction writing
A Writer’s Search for Story Titles
Titles lead unpredictable lives. A lucky writer may have a great title even before the story is begun. Often, a title arrives while the story is underway. On the other hand, it might not appear until after the last sentence … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Creativity, fiction writing, Finding Ideas: The Creative Process, Inspiration, Looking for Inspiration, Reading, short story, Writing
Tagged finding ideas for story titles, finding titles for your fiction, putting together a short story collection, short story collection, the title search in fiction writing, Themes, writing a short story collection
4 Comments
Building a Short Story Collection – The Saga Continues
I fell in love with short stories in my eighth grade English class when Mr. Patti read Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Gold Bug” and “The Masque of the Red Death” to us. I liked the emotions I experienced, the language … Continue reading
Posted in fiction writing, Reading, short story, Writing
Tagged compiling the short story collection, composing a book title, dedication in a book, Elizabeth Strout, foreword in a book, Getting Lucky by Thomas Kennedy, Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout, table of contents, the short story collection, Thomas Kennedy
4 Comments
Finding the “just right” character name
I don’t have a magic potion for selecting a character name. Sometimes the name just arrives. Other times, it’s a hard search. I may have to give the character a temporary name for a while as I push ahead in … Continue reading
Posted in Authors, Books, Creativity, fiction writing, Inspiration, Looking for Inspiration, novel, Reading, short story, Writing
Tagged Andy Weir, finding character names, Harry Bosch, Mark Watney, Michael Connelly, Mitch Rapp, naming a character in a work of fiction, Order to Kill, The Martian, The Wrong Side of Goodbye, Vince Flynn
Leave a comment
Fiction Writing – Like Your Own Political Convention?
Fiction writing is like your own political convention. Pardon me? Really? Okay, hang with me on this. First, let’s look at what happens when you’re writing a short story. I attempted to analyze this conundrum with a story I just … Continue reading
Posted in fiction writing, Reading, short story, Writing
Tagged analogy, antagonist, fiction writing, pantser, planner, protagonist, reading, setting, short story, steps in writing the short story, writing, writing process
6 Comments
A Public Reading of Another’s Work
Doing a public reading of another author’s work is an honor and a responsibility, and definitely feels different from doing a reading of your own stuff. With your own, you’re protective and vulnerable. Nervous. (See my post from 10/15/15 called “What … Continue reading
What is it about a lighthouse?
What is it about a lighthouse and lighthouses in general? They seem to trigger tales of adventure or danger or disaster. They attract artists and photographers who want to capture their majesty and stalwart strength against nature. Writers such as … Continue reading
Posted in Creativity, fiction writing, Finding Ideas: The Creative Process, Inspiration, Looking for Inspiration, poetry, Reading, short story, Writing
Tagged couplet, Edgar Allan Poe, fiction, ghazal, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, lighthouse, lighthouse mystique, poetic style, poetry, rhyme, syllables, Virginia Woolf, writing
10 Comments
Thoughts while reading a rejection …
Acceptance and rejection letters come to writers in all forms. Of course, the acceptances are the most fun. You savor them, place them in a special file, even frame them. The rejections are often form notes, maybe with a small … Continue reading →