Category: Barbara Pattee

Plotter or Pantser

“Secret Sauce: If you’re not spending most of your time figuring out how your characters act or acted, you’re probably wasting your time.” Annalisa Parent, featured speaker, at the Writer’s Digest Annual Conference 2017. Are you a plotter or a pantser? Or are you a crazy combination of the two? Some writers prefer to know …

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Freedom! What Freedom?

“Barbara, your assignment is to write a 250-word essay entitled What Freedom Means to Me, my English teacher said. “I’m submitting your work to a local writing contest.” “Yes, ma’am,” I said, not questioning why she selected that subject or why none of my classmates were given the same assignment. She told me nothing about …

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What’s Your Number?

“The beautiful part of writing is that you don’t have to get it right the first time, unlike say a brain surgeon.” – Robert Cormier Grab your thesaurus! You need a stronger word to convey the anger your protagonist feels. When reading your completed manuscript, look for apathetic words that don’t show the desire, despair, …

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This Is Us

  “Do the one thing they always tell writers not to do. Watch T.V.”  From 99 Ways to Get Inspired to Write by Smart Blogger You may discover interesting plot ideas in television shows; however, some programs may teach you about good quality writing. Watching the television show, “This Is Us,” may help you learn …

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All Love Is Created Equal

In 1958, Richard Loving drove his fiancé Mildred Jeter from their home in rural Central Point, Virginia to Washington, D.C. to get married. Then they returned to Virginia to live. A few weeks later, the county sheriff arrived in the middle of the night to arrest the couple for breaking the miscegenation laws.   Miscegenation, …

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