The Only New Year’s Resolutions A Writer Really Needs

I can almost make that generalization and believe it because these 3 resolutions are adjustable, which makes them good for writers at all stages. I suppose an individual writer might need another resolution (like “pay the bills”), but these 3 are pretty good.  3. Publish Submit to a magazine, contest, or book publisher. Self-publish an ebook. Write a blog. Do what you need to...

If All They Get Are Dull Readings, No Wonder Teenagers Loathe Poetry

In my regular job, I write educational material for teenagers, and their reaction to poetry is almost always “ugh.” Now, they’re teenagers, so “ugh” is one of their main reactions to anything; however, many of them really, sincerely loathe poetry. Some have enough trouble reading already (literacy in our country is really going downhill), and others have only experienced poetry...

How Would You Start A Christmas Carol?

What is Christmas without A Christmas Carol? I’ve watched two versions so far (The Muppet Christmas Carol and Mickey’s Christmas Carol), and I was struck by how differently the two approached the introduction of Scrooge: the Muppet version chose to use explicit characterization while the Mickey version used implicit characterization(See Show – Don’t Tell for more info on explicit v. implicit characterization)....