This Friday kicks off WORD ON THE LAKE, A Festival for Readers and Writers. It’s a weekend of writing workshops, readings and presentations, in Salmon Arm, British Columbia. In its tenth year, the festival has been well received.
Word on the Lake celebrates the scope of the written and spoken word, and the spoken word [...]
I’ve been asked to give a workshop about the first step to publishing. In order to publish a quality book, editing is key. After your own edits and re-writes, it’s important for a professional to edit your book. By doing the initial edits and read- throughs yourself, you’ll save your editor time and yourself a [...]
Spring in Salmon Arm, BC means the goldfish, turtles and ducklings are back. It also means that the Word on the Lake writers festival is gearing up. This year is the festival’s tenth anniversary and promises to be an amazing weekend.
With thirteen presenters, there will be something of interest for everyone. New this year [...]
Writing a short story can be highly engrossing. Your creative processes are engaged. The end result is positively speedy compared to writing a novel. If you are writing a novel, shifting your focus to a short story can be energizing. You’ll find yourself feeling fresh when you return to the novel, as if returning from [...]
Writing is a solitary venture. We hole up for hours, head down, fingers tapping at the keys. Sometimes, it is eye opening and uplifting to meet with other writers to read and listen.
This last weekend, I attended the Mad Hatter’s Potluck for Writers. This was a dinner party to welcome spring and its accompanying [...]
Consider using photographs or paintings to write a scene. Choose something that evokes a specific feeling for you, and write a few paragraphs. I chose this painting of the flicker at dusk. For me, I feel a sense of peace, settling in, thoughtfulness. What do you hear? What does the air smell like?
Looking through [...]
I’m a bit of an odd duck, or maybe just sensitive. When I read a book or watch a film, I’m always looking for something uplifting. Stories are at the core of our development as humans. And story telling is the most ancient form of learning.
It’s in our nature to want our protagonist to [...]
I want to laugh. More accurately, I need to laugh; a lot. -We all do. And laughter is a great stress reliever. When I posted about writing comedy, I suggested pulling up funny stories from our own experiences. The story doesn’t have to be a huge event, just something small, perhaps ordinary with a twist.
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In the last few posts, I’ve talked about recording a story or novel. You might enjoy writing and recording family stories. I am the chronicler for my family, and what they appreciate most is comedy. Everyone remembers the embarrassing or awkward moments. Hearing about, or reading these incidents, puts us right there in time and [...]
You’re ready to record your story. Your copy is marked indicating areas to pause, what to emphasize, difficult passages, and any other useful notes to help give an engaging presentation. You could use the microphone built into your computer, but you’ll end up with a tinny, weak quality.
For recording The Solstice Conspiracy, I used [...]
