A determining factor for the story and tone in every book is the POV, or point of view. This is certainly no news to any reader. When you read like a writer, though, the POV can help you predict how the story will develop and with what pace. Being aware of the pros and cons of the different…
Category: Lessons in Writing
Get Excited – It’s Time for NaNoWriMo
Scroll down for printable NaNo Calendar 🙂 Last year was the first time I actually won NaNoWriMo (won means made it to 50k in the allotted time in NaNo terms) and it gave me unbelievable boost in confidence. Not to mention, I finally witnessed for myself that making time to write is completely viable even…
Time for NaNoWrimo!
It’s that time of the year again – time for us writers (new, old, good, bad, chocolate-obsessed and not so much) to bleed over the keyboard. Three, two, one – go! and see you after November 30th! So I am…
Ghetto Lyrics for Poetry Day
It was US National Poetry Day a few weeks ago. Forgive my short memory, but since I am not in the US, I am forgiven if the date slipped my mind. The word poetry has a bitter sting for me. I am an absolute poetry slacker – I never read, let alone write any. There have been…
Memorable Writing: Far From the Madding Crowd
Not long ago I posted my review of Hardy’s masterpiece (and the 2015 movie adaptation), so I will not bore you with repetitions about my opinion and what I liked and what I did not like, yada yada yada. This post is just a collection of excerpts that impressed me with writing style and at times surprised…
Stephen King’s On Writing – The Takeaways
This is ridiculous – reviewing Stephen King’s master advice on how to write? Seriously, this constant current of feedback is what’s wrong with the world today. Everyone can review everything, although some (in all honesty – most) people are just not equipped to say anything substantial; to meaningfully add to the discussion; to not embarrass themselves. One of them is me…
Memorable Writing: Drums of Autumn (Part 1)
When I picked up Outlander, I expected an enjoyable romance, where I had the legit right to imagine hunk Sam Heughan as protagonist. I did not expect a writing lesson or public bursts of laughter that made me look like a crazy person; but I got both. And thank God! (or rather – thank you, Diana Gabaldon!)…
The Life and Writing Lessons of Outlander
We are just days away from the much-anticipated oh-my-god-Jamie-is-back historical April the 4th, when – besides Holy Saturday and Blood Moon – Starz TV show Outlander’s return is happening. I can actually hear the screams of the Outlandish fandom, which I have come to know is huge, devoted and very much fun. I joined it quite by chance…
On the Importance of Being a Writer
You, my dear writer, know your worth. But do you know how much you really matter, and for how many? Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres and I realize I have been taking for granted the ability to travel to any age of time and any place in the world, just by picking up the…
Memorable Writing: Americanah
I picked up Half of a Yellow Sun by chance seven years ago, unaware of the rare literary talent that is Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Her writing style mesmerized my aspiring-writer brain and, well, filled me with apprehension. How could I ever become that good? Just because I found out about Adichie by chance, does not…
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