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Carol S. Mann
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Bits and Pieces
“He knew everyone had flaws. People fell from grace all the time. But some people fell further than others.” From “Ferrelli’s Fall” (Creek Songs).
Tag Archives: reading
Newspaper Article about Creek Songs
The local newspaper of the Palm Springs/Coachella Valley area is The Desert Sun. On Sunday, September 18, 2022, Creek Songs and I were honored to be the subject of an article in the Arts and Culture Section, written by reporter … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Books and E-Books, Creativity, e-books, fiction writing, Finding Ideas: The Creative Process, Inspiration, International Book Awards, Looking for Inspiration, National Indie Excellence Awards, personal essay, Reading, short story, Writing
Tagged author Carol Mann, books, Creek Songs, reading, short story, short story collection, writing
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Good News
I’m happy to announce that Creek Songs has been named a National Indie Excellence Awards Finalist in the “Fiction: Short Story” category.
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
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Finding the Angle
You sit at your desk or take a walk and, as you do, you scratch at your brain’s stored content and loose ends. You want to find an angle for your story and a world backdrop against which your protagonist … Continue reading
Posted in Authors, Books, Creativity, fiction writing, Inspiration, novel, Reading, short story, Writing
Tagged All Our Names by Dinaw Mengestu, books, creativity, fiction, ideas, imagination, In the Kingdom of Ice by Hampton Sides, inspiration, literature, nonfiction, Passion and Principle by Sally Denton, Rancho Mirage Writers Festival, reading, Redeployment by Phil Klay, short story, The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff, The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks, Welcome to Braggsville by T. Geronimo Johnson, When Book Went to War by Molly Giptill Manning, writing
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World Poetry
As life moves along, horizons widen. New people, new experiences, new ideas. Sometimes there’s even a win in a contest. My contest winnings have included a trip from Buffalo to Cleveland. (Heart be still.) A gift basket during a luncheon raffle. … Continue reading
Posted in Authors, Books, Creativity, Inspiration, Looking for Inspiration, poetry, Reading, Writing
Tagged Ahmatjan Osman, Angelica Freitas, books of poetry, Diorama, Jeffrey Yang, PEN Center USA, PEN International, performance poetry, poetry, reading, Rilke Shake, Rocio Ceron, Uyghurland the Farthest Exile, World literature, writing
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Companion Pieces
I began reading the book Lawrence in Arabia after hearing author Scott Anderson speak at a local book event. The book’s subtitle is War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle East. As you probably figured, my … Continue reading
Posted in Reading
Tagged Andrew Anastasios, Flashes of War, Katey Schultz, Lawrence in Arabia, reading, Russell Crowe, Scott Anderson, The Middle East, The Water Diviner, war, writing
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Writers’ Festivals and Writers’ Conferences
Do you want to go to a Writers’ Festival or a Writers’ Conference? How do you decide? How are they different? What should you expect? Are you a reader? Are you a writer? Are you both? A festival is about … Continue reading
Imagination – Keeping It Alive
Before TV and high-tech came on the scene, people listened to their entertainment on the radio. To soaps and sitcoms and mysteries and children’s programs. To sports and news. They conjured in their minds how a situation or character looked. … Continue reading
Do the words have new meaning?
Have you noticed, as we grow in life’s experiences, we often extract different meanings from a piece of literature or poetry when we revisit it? We may make new discoveries about the characters or life or both. Remember, back in … Continue reading
Posted in Creativity, Inspiration, Looking for Inspiration, poetry, Reading
Tagged beach, John Masefield, layers of meaning, literature, ocean, poetry, reading, reading poetry, reading poetry aloud, sailing, sea, Sea Fever, seaman, tall ships
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Written Beneath the Palms 