Category: On Writing
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New reviews
It’s time for another assortment of critiques. I’m surprised that it’s such a long time since the last one. Mea culpa. Anyway, the need for fellowship among writers is as great as it ever was. There’s nothing that boosts an author like an honest review. In a way, it doesn’t matter whether it’s…
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Professional Author?
What transforms a writer into an author? Does being an author turn a writer into a professional? Not too long ago, somebody told me that writing is an — expensive — hobby. That made me wonder when an author can claim to be a professional. Is it just a question of sales? Do you…
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Another Collection of Reviews.
In mid-March, I found myself musing about reviews and reviewers. The situation stays much the same: authors need reactions from their readers to thrive. Not just to sell books, but also to know that they’ve been heard (or read). We can’t function in a vacuum. I can’t stress this enough. It doesn’t take…
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Bad Script? Good Plot?
Or both, Interchangeable Five sea-battles, a lynching, a riot with attempted arson, a torture scene, practically no dialogue, and a cast of predominantly male actors. The only two females are respectively a whore and a longsuffering wife. They probably have about three lines between them. Perhaps the wife has a bit more, she scolds…
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Working with Subconsciousness in Writing
Writing is a personal matter, and one’s preferences can’t easily be put into words. There are people who take a romantic position towards their work, and there are those who take a practical stance. What they aim to do may be the same, but they use different conceptions to get there. All the same, I…
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Foreign Languages in Literature
Recently, somebody complimented me for my English. That’s always a boost, but on the other hand, it would be a terrible idea to write in a language one doesn’t master. It gave me food for thought though. What makes any writer chose to write in a language different from his or her native tongue? For…
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Procrastination
A Writer’s Worst Enemy It’s late. After a long day of washing, I’d like to rest, but it won’t do. I’ve got to write, even if there isn’t much to say about laundry. There isn’t much to say about television in Germany either, so what do I do now? I must think of something, anything…
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Character Development
I find creating a protagonist one of the greatest challenges a writer must face. How to do it? There are many conflicting ideas about this, spanning from advocating descriptions to the absolute ban on the same. How best reveal character traits? A character sketch seems one way to avoid misunderstandings. It is neat, and easily…
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About Critiques and Reviewers
Reviews can make or break an author. I believe that everybody, who publishes their writing, dreads their readers’ silence. No doubt, one can discuss whether a bad review is worse than total silence. My position is that a bad review can spark interest in a book (think Fifty Shades) just as much as a…
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What makes a writer an author?
Somebody once said that it is good to be a hack. Why? Because hacks write. They have something to say and they say it. Someone also said Charles Dickens was a hack, writing his novels in weekly instalments. But people still love his books. Is that all it takes? Yes and no. As time…