Category: On Writing
One Novel, Coming Right Up!
I’m officially writing a fantasy novel this November during @NaNoWriMo. nanowrimo.org #NaNoPrep. Stay tuned for updates!
November 1, 2014
Nancy Ellen Dodd
This morning, I had the pleasure of meeting one of the people who really illuminated the writing craft for me, at the first Southern California Writers Association meeting of 2014. The meeting was a huge success; Nancy gave a powerful presentation, and I am glad to have been there. A big Thank You to Nancy and everyone at the SCWA!
January 18, 2014
On Clichés and Kennings
Writers are often told to avoid clichés or risk the work being criticized as banal. There is a lot of truth to that sentiment. But we must remember that clichés are more than just rehashed creativity. Clichés carry with them entire universes of associated knowledge. Old Norse had a word for this called kennings. Kennings, like clichés, originate from a figure of speech. For example, terms like “the whale’s road” are used in place of “the sea” in their poetry. It was not considered unoriginal or in bad taste to use kennings, in fact, Norse poets tried to find ways to fit as many kennings in a poem as possible. Before humans invented writing, all of our stories, our ‘literature’, was oral.
February 25, 2013