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Tag: short stories
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Starter from Margaret Talbot
Today’s line to get you started comes from Margaret Talbot’s “Shots in the Dark,” in the April 15th, 2013 edition of The New Yorker : What’s the worst that could happen? Try this: Who’s thinking this and why? Once you decide that, go write the scene. Coming tomorrow: A fighting 8 count that…
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Sara Dailey week #003: Knockout idea–Use a theme!
What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:9 Now you know that if this idea is stated in the Bible, a book that’s a few thousand years old, then it’s not exactly a new idea that writers struggle…
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SPEED BAG: #001 Brainstorm from this title…
Today, we’ll try our first speed bag drill. These are meant to be quick writings–your hand flows across the paper for as long as you can maintain it (hopefully at least 5 minutes). Here’s how it’ll work today: I’m going to give you a title. It comes from an article by Nicholas Schnidle in the…
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TC Boyle Week #7–Sanders and Boyle BEND the Rule of 3!
Touch gloves–Sanders meets Boyle today. Yesterday, we saw Rule of 3, a common technique employed by MANY writers, especially those who write in English. There’s something about the rhythms it creates that are pleasing to the ear. Today, we’re going to see how both Sanders and Boyle BEND that rule. First, I’ll show…
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TC Boyle Week #4–Boyle, meet Picoult, the Simile Queen!
Yesterday’s simile work with T. C. Boyle reminded me of someone he should meet (if he hasn’t already): Jodi Picoult, the Simile Queen! What I mean by that is in My Sister’s Keeper, a 411-page novel, she uses at least 41 similes! That means, by my account, that about 10% of her pages in that…