Category: Barbara Pattee

Frustration

“Writing: Somewhere between torture and fun.” – The Write Practice “I just sit at my typewriter and curse a bit.” — P.G. Wodehouse Frustration My current project, an historical novel, started as a short story written during a creative writing class. The sudden death of an important, but minor, character propelled the scenes to a …

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Resolutions

This week, I helped clean out and organize the family garage and thought about my 2015 resolutions. I have two lists – one for chores and the second is “My 2015 Non-Commitments for My Writing Growth.” The first three items were submitted to Deadwood Writers. 1) Enter the Writer’s Digest Short Story Contest. I did …

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Shut the Noise

“Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome.” Samuel Johnson Do you edit as you write? Do you struggle with every word, sentence, paragraph, character, and scene before you decide that your writing is not yet perfect? Do you hit the delete button more often than the save button? Do …

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In the Beginning – Make It Up

“The scariest moment is always just before you start.” – Stephen King What causes a writer to stare uncertainly at the blank white page: lack of unique ideas, not sure of how to start a powerful memoir, or even the most effective way to begin a thriller? “Story Starters” by Lou Willett Stanek, PhD. has …

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What Have You Learned from Reading?

For me, reading is an adventure, which sometimes extends beyond the pages of the books I select. You never know what you can learn from a book of fiction. I met Mary Higgins Clark at a Book and Author’s Luncheon after reading her second book, a mystery, Where Are the Children? From the story, I …

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