Writing – Page 29 – Suzanne Warr

Introducing Change In a Story

I’ve been spending some time thinking about the impetus for change which often kicks a story off the ground and gets it rolling.Â Â Some change is essential to adventure or character driven stories in which action will play aÂ key role, but a balance must be reachedÂ between catching the reader’s attention with a wild new thing, and

This Week In Words (12-3-06)

4DecemberSuzanneWriting

Ailurophile >n. a cat lover.Â Dacha >n. a country house or cottage in Russia, typically used as a second or vacation home. –origin mid 19th cent.: Russian, originally ‘grant (of land).’Â Inexorable >adj. impossible to stop or prevent: the seemingly inexorable march of new technology. — (of a person) impossible to persuade by request or

Pros and Cons of Writing Groups

29NovemberSuzanne4 CommentsWriting

The long awaited opinionatedÂ non-dictated . . . okay, I’ll stop.Â Here’sÂ my list; feel free to share your own insights.Â Pros: A writing group can be aÂ motivation boost and make you accountable for how much writing you’re getting done.Â Â They cheer for you when success strikes, and understand how even small recognition in the field can be

This Week In Words (11-26-06)

26NovemberSuzanneWriting

Impecunious >adj. having little of no money: a titled but impecunious family.Â Onomatopeic >n. the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named (e.g., cuckoo, sizzle). –the use of such words for rhetorical effect. Winnow >v. 1 blow a current of air through (grain) in order to remove the chaff. –remove

Learning from the Masters

22NovemberSuzanne2 CommentsWriting

Most writers and writing instructors agree that we should learn from the masters. Study the greats of our genre, and throw in some Chaucer, Shakespeare, Kipling, and Twain for good measure. But what about Michaelangelo?Â Mozart?Â Da Vinci?Â Not only can the masters of other, non-writing fields prove a fabulous source of inspiration, as Dan

The Picture vs. the Thousand Words

20NovemberSuzanneWriting

Is a picture really worth a thousand words?Â Would you rather get one untitled pictureÂ a month from aÂ loved one, or severalÂ emails?Â I’m assuming your average email is not longer than 500 words, and probably shorter.Â What about in business?Â Would you accept the occasional photo from your team leader instead of instructions?Â Keep in mind

This Week In Words (11-19-06)

19NovemberSuzanneWriting

Critic >n. 1 a person who expresses an unfavorable opinion of something: critics say many schools are not prepared to handle the influx of foreign students. 2 a person who judges the merits of literary, artistic, or musical works, esp. one who does so prefessionally: a film critic. Misnomer >n. a wrong or inaccurate name

A Human Barometer

16NovemberSuzanne1 CommentWriting

The weather’s weirding outside, with scudded clouds and dashes of rain.Â My head is weirded, too.Â It doesn’t like the pressure change.Â I walk like my heels are too high, and if I stand up quickly I sway. So of course this has got me thinking . . . wouldn’t it be interesting if certain

This Week in Words (11-13-06)

13NovemberSuzanneWriting

This is rolling in a day late, but better late than never . . . Â Anachronism >n. a thing belonging or appropriate to a period other thanÂ in which it exists, esp. a thing that is conspicuously old-fashoined: everything was as it would have appeared in centuries past apart from one anachronism, a bright yellow

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