Your best ideas are going to strike at the most inopportune times. The best way to catch those eureka moments that spring up throughout the day is to be prepared for them. In the car, store a cheap voice recorder. Store a notebook (and pen) in a drawer in the bathroom, on the beside table,…
Greetings BIWers, I am sorry for the sporadic internet service this month. I have been pulling my hair out with my current hosting company to no avail so I am preparing to switch all my sites over to a new host. Hopefully the change over will be completed by Monday because I will be taking…
All the best this holiday season. After all the turkey, the presents, and the socializing we will be here waiting for you. MoeM. E. Wood lives in Eastern Ontario with her husband of fourteen years. She has been moderating BIW for over five years and works at home writing for the internet. You can learn…
When I used to write for the Literary Fiction site at BellaOnline I asked a few hundred readers what question they would ask their favorite author if they had the chance, I picked the best from the lot and created a standard author Q & A to use with guest authors. Bascially a “Q &…
Here is an interesting video featuring Charles Limb, a musician, surgeon, and TED presenter, about how the brain works during creative endeavours. While the main focus is on jazz music and rappers I think it still relates to the creative process of writing, especially free form writing which is also spontaneously produced. It gets especially…
Sometimes one word is all it takes to get your thoughts moving. One word as simple as “dog” or as complicated as “supercalafragilisticexpialidocious” can bring on a flash of memories or ideas. The opposite can happen as well. All of a sudden a word can escape your memory. It will sit on the edge of…
Review by Louise E. Sawyer Are your fictional characters vivid and memorable? When I read John Grisham’s novels I am amazed at how well I get to know his major characters. I either love them or hate them and I find myself smiling or anxious. The three sections of Character & Viewpoint cover Inventing Characters,…
Book Review, by Judy Downing Villains are useful creatures. Without the evil Lord Voldemort, Harry Potter’s trials and tribulations would have been reduced to a sometimes petulant young man struggling to survive his lessons and gain acceptance from his peers. George Wickham, a very different kind of villain in Pride and Prejudice, opens Elizabeth Bennett’s…
Book Review, by Annie Haws This is a delightful approach to a necessary “evil”. As the co-authors (independent editors themselves) remind us, writing and editing are two very different capabilities, which ought not to be engaged in simultaneously. Write first–get out that first draft–THEN edit–not before. The aim of this book is to guide authors…
Father’s Day Prompts I never grew up with a father but had many father figures like neighbors, teachers, law enforcement. I was kidding on the last one. Father’s day is a great day to appreciate all the father figures in your life. The date varies but is typically celebrated on the third Sunday in June.…
