Jordan Rosenfeld, who presented a workshop for Tri-Valley Writers on character and point of view, gave a brief writing exercise on creating new metaphors and similes. She presented a list of phrases that had become cliches and challenged us to create something fresh. I thought a different way of saying right as rain could be […]
Similes, Metaphors and Phrases by Lani Longshore Read More »
Celebrate the new year with others whose passion for writing is as strong as your own! Our Winterfest celebration will be a member-led Workshop à La Carte. The workshop is designed to help writers polish their work for anthologies such as Tri-Valley Writers fourth anthology to be published in late 2018, writing contests, collections of
Workshop À La Carte, January 20, 2018 Read More »
I have a pad of paper on a magnet on the refrigerator for the grocery list. There are stacks of scrap paper by the telephone, and a legal pad on my nightstand for ideas that wake me from a sound sleep. One could believe I am a die-hard devotee of paper as the perfect writing
The Perfect Writing Surface by Lani Longshore Read More »
The last of the Baby Boomers and the first of the Gen Xers will be the last generation to remember the world before the internet, or so I heard at a lecture by Scott Thomas Anderson at CWC Tri-Valley Writers September meeting. That’s a bit of a shock, but there’s a bigger demarcation line in
The Last Generation to Remember the World Before Photocopiers by Lani Longshore Read More »
The most recent natural disaster, Hurricane Harvey, reminded me to review my earthquake preparedness file. It contains lists of what to do before, during, and after an earthquake. Most important, there are lists of things to keep packed and ready. I suggest that a writer needs to add a notebook and supply of pens to
When Disaster Strikes by Lani Longshore Read More »
Every time one of my writing buddies gets a nibble from an agent, I wonder if I shouldn’t trust the universe to provide and send out another round of queries myself. I’m happy enough self-publishing. No, my sales aren’t good, but the chances of them being better with a traditional publisher aren’t guaranteed, and at
Trust and Perseverance by Lani Longshore Read More »
There are days when I can write stories, and there are days when I can write titles. Alas, the titles don’t always match the stories. Still, writing is writing, so I keep a file of all the titles that manage to stick to a memory cell long enough for me to record them. Whether I’ll
Titles: A Collection by Lani Longshore Read More »
There are times when the universe whacks you over the head and shouts, “Pay attention!” The universe is speaking to me about my writing practice, and what I need to include. Tri-Valley Writers started a field trip series to get us out of our writing dens and into the fresh air. The first outing was
Writing Lessons by Lani Longshore Read More »
I talked with a friend the other day who told me about tracking down the truth of some old family stories. Her grandmother, it appears, may have been a waitress in a Southern restaurant frequented by mobsters on the run in the 1930s. The family had sent her to a private school, but then the
Secrets and Stories by Lani Longshore Read More »
I’m reading The Oregon Trail by Rinker Buck, who decided to outfit a covered wagon and revisit what is left of the Oregon Trail. He spends a couple of chapters talking about wagons. The Conestoga Wagon may be what most people remember from history class, but that wasn’t the wagon that went west. The Conestoga
History and World Building by Lani Longshore Read More »
