Someone asked me if I had grandchildren. Without thinking, I said, “Oh, no, thank goodness.” I got some funny looks on that one, but it’s very true that I am not grandma material. That got me thinking about the characters in my stories. Do I know whether they are grandparent material? Would they get down […]
Is Your Character Grandma Material? by Lani Longshore Read More »
I once lived where the vernal equinox meant more than spring break was around the corner. Flowers bloomed for the first time in months, trees burst into leaf, snow melted. No one complained too much about a loss in productivity because everyone had spring fever. Then I moved to California. It isn’t that we don’t
This Time of Year by Lani Longshore Read More »
I belong to several critique groups, and I’m also a beta reader. The process of taking another writer’s words and seeing if I have a moment of inspiration that might make a good piece better is exhilarating. I often benefit as much if not more by the analysis. I have also discovered that I’m becoming
Inconvenient Inspiration by Lani Longshore Read More »
Enough time has passed that I’ve evaluated my writing resolutions list and wondered what I was thinking at the end of December. Usually I toss my list away, but this year I want to encourage us all to add one more item to it. Let’s resolve to make 2016 the year we get more training.
The Value of Training by Lani Longshore Read More »
This morning I remembered what I had forgotten. Yesterday I made a note to self to check an old to-do list. What I had forgotten was not on that list, but now I’ve remembered, so it’s okay (or will be, as soon as I do what I remembered I had forgotten). The point is, I
Like Rose Petals, or Why the Paperless Society Is a Terrible Idea by Lani Longshore Read More »
Stacey Gustafson’s book, Are You Kidding Me? My Life With an Extremely Loud Family, Bathroom Calamities, and Crazy Relatives, reached #1 Amazon Best Seller in Parenting & Family Humor and Motherhood for the second time in December 2015. Stacey was guest speaker at the Author’s Tea and Auction in Pleasanton for the Philanthropic Educational Organization,
Thanksgiving starts the holiday season, including the Time of Gratitude. Those who completed NaNoWriMo know what I mean. No matter how grudgingly, your friends and family had to give you the gift of time to write or you never would have finished those 50,000 words. The same will be true in December, the King Kong
Gratitude for Writing Time by Lani Longshore Read More »
At a CWC Mt. Diablo Branch workshop on writing emotion, Amanda McTigue pointed out that whether people are reading or not they are still exposed to stories every day. Movies, television, sometimes even advertising are all informing our potential readers. When there are so many stories floating in the air, how can we make our
Writing in a Story-saturated World by Lani Longshore Read More »
I returned from a two-week holiday and looked at my notes for the next section of my novel. After much consideration, I realized I had no idea what I meant when I wrote those notes. There was no obvious pick-up line, and once again I remembered why I don’t knit―I could never find my way
This Is Why I Don’t Knit Read More »
Creating interesting characters, rich settings and nuanced plots in as few words as possible is the mark of a skilled writer. Short stories present a wonderful opportunity to hone those skills—and lay the groundwork for longer works.
December 20, 2014: Someone, Something, Somewhere: Short Stories Made Simple Read More »
