Thought it might not look like it, this idealized painting of the first Thanksgiving is historically inaccurate. According to the notes, the costume of the Pilgrims is inaccurate and Wompanoag Native Americans depicted in the painting would not have worn the feather bonnets nor would they have been sitting on the ground. Painted during WWI, … Continue reading ‘Trash History’: Historical Accuracy in Film and Fiction
creativity
Science, Ghosts and Haunted Houses: Three 19th Century Classic Women Horror Writers
Photo Credit: Mr. T. P. Cooke, of the Theatre Royal Covent Garden, in the character of the monster in the dramatic romance of Frankenstein, 1823 production of Presumption; or, the fate of Frankenstein, lithograph reproduction of an original painting by Nathanial Whittock and Thomas Charles Wageman, The New York Public Library: Tronvillian/ Wikimedia Commons/PD Old … Continue reading Science, Ghosts and Haunted Houses: Three 19th Century Classic Women Horror Writers
Catalyst For A Series: My Unexpected “Aha!” Moment from The Blackwater Lightship
Photo Credit: Dark light… come shine in her lost heart tonight, taken on 26 November 2016 by Nikk: The Maniac Macrographer/Flickr/CC BY 2.0 I’ve talked quite a bit about inspiration on my blog. In this blog post I discuss how I believe inspiration is something you don’t sit around and wait for but go out and … Continue reading Catalyst For A Series: My Unexpected “Aha!” Moment from The Blackwater Lightship
What’s in a Tagline? Picking Apart My Tagline
Photo Credit: Woman with veil, dark Gothic fantasy image, uploaded December 24, 2014 by LoganArt: LoganArt/ Pixabay/CC0 1.0 Last week, the Sisters in Crime organization held a webinar for authors about author branding. The idea of “branding” is relatively new buzzword in business and marketing (when it comes to people rather than products, that is) but … Continue reading What’s in a Tagline? Picking Apart My Tagline
Not So HAE (Happily Ever After)
The epitome of the happily-ever-after romance ending — the handsome couple off against the sunset with the calm waters and the palm tree. Photo Credit: Silhouette of a loving couple against a sunset, uploaded 25 April 2017 by 5187396: 5187396/Pixabay/CC0 1.0 “We are writers and we destroy lives and worlds and ideologies. And sometimes, we … Continue reading Not So HAE (Happily Ever After)
It’s Camp Nano Time Again!
Photo Credit: Summer in Connecticut – The Old Barn at Branchville, J. Alden Weir, 1890’s, oil on canvas, Christie’s, New York: Trzesacz/Wikimedia Commons/PD Old 95 1934 Some of you might remember that I took a blogging break in April because of Camp Nano . Well, it's summer and Camp Nano is upon us again and I've decided to … Continue reading It’s Camp Nano Time Again!
Adventurous Perception: The Individual Creative Process
Photo Credit: Photograph of Maurits (M.C.) Escher, around 23 Nov. 1971. Photograph probably made by Hans Peters (ANEFO), Ga het na (Nationall Archief NL): Vysotsky/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY SA 3.0 Many artists talk about the creative process. It’s one of those illusive ideas that fascinates non-artists and weighs heavily on the minds of artists because creativity … Continue reading Adventurous Perception: The Individual Creative Process
The Emotional Badlands of Language, or, Language is Not Just Data
Photo Credit: Canadian singer Leonard Cohen in Trouville-sur-Mer (Normandy, France), taken 26 January 1988 by Roland Godefroy: Teddyyy/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 3.0 “If words are the arrow, we ourselves — our interior landscapes, our outward actions, the authenticity of our lives — are the bow.” (Popova, par. 1) As many of my blog readers know, I … Continue reading The Emotional Badlands of Language, or, Language is Not Just Data
Character vs. Plot Puzzles: The Two Sides of My Fictional World
Photo Credit: Multi-colored puzzle pieces, uploaded 17 February 2017: Pixhere/CC0 1.0 Last week, I announced in a live Facebook post on my author page that I’m exploring new directions with my fiction. I also created a Coming Soon page on my website with more details about what I’m doing and why and what readers can expect in … Continue reading Character vs. Plot Puzzles: The Two Sides of My Fictional World
First Worlds: Writing and Blogging in New Directions
Photo Credit: The Blue Veil by Edmond Tarbell, oil painting, 1898: freeparking/Flickr/CC BY 2.0 “The creative personality never remains fixed on the first world it discovers. It never resigns itself to anything ... “ (Nin, location 3587) I love this quote from Nin because it’s so true of many creative people. The nature of creativity … Continue reading First Worlds: Writing and Blogging in New Directions