E.B. Dawson's Blog, page 22
October 29, 2015
Everybody’s a Critic
I have begun to notice how much people demand to be entertained. The arts are no longer a means of expression, but of immediate capitalistic gratification. Think of the blockbuster films that contract sequel and sequel even though they have no real substance, while the more creative films/tv shows gets canceled. I used to work with […]
October 27, 2015
Flashbacks
If I had taken Creative Writing, I’m sure my professors would have explained all the literary “no-no’s,” effectively purged them out of my system, and given me dependable alternatives. But I didn’t. There are some rules that make sense and are simply good taste. But others don’t make sense to me. (Not that I’m an […]
October 22, 2015
My Thoughts on YouTube Storytelling
This will be short and sweet (probably). But I just wanted to put in some thoughts about YouTube storytelling- particularly the literary adaption trend (The Lizzie Bennet Diaries). Generally, I like it. Granted, there can be some redundancy in a couple of characters telling us everything. To overcome this problem a lot of them like […]
October 20, 2015
Thoughts On POV
You didn’t ask for it…but here it is! Some of my extended and specific thoughts on different point of view writing. (I’m not gonna lie: I had to look a couple of these up as a refresher) Third Person- Strongest. I was thinking about why I like third person so much. I think it gives […]
October 15, 2015
Character Flaws…
…can be significantly overrated. In this day and age I feel like character flaws are celebrated and glorified. It’s true that they can be fun to play with and they definitely add tension and drama. But my favorite books are the ones that have inspired me. That being said, my sister used to always critique […]
October 13, 2015
What to Leave Out
When I begin a writing project I usually have at least a few clear ideas in my head of what’s going to happen. Sometimes I have scenes mapped out very clearly in my head. One of the biggest problems I encountered in my early days of writing was how to string them all together. I […]
October 8, 2015
Logan’s Theme Song
October is here! That means there are only two months left before my sequel to “The Creation of Jack” gets published! Hurray! (Inwardly trying not to panic) I’m not going to lie. I still have some work to do on it. But I am also confident that I will get the work done. And let […]
October 6, 2015
“How to Critique a Manuscript” For Dummies
Here’s the deal. If I ask you to read my manuscript and give me feedback, I’m asking you for help and not for insults. Too often I get neither. If you aren’t a writer, I can imagine how intimidating it might be. Unless you’ve taken creative writing classes or are super in tune with the […]
October 1, 2015
3 Things People Don’t Understand About Writing
1. 10 Failures to 1 Success. I almost titled this point, “There is no such thing as bad writing.” But I just couldn’t do it. Because there is such a thing as bad writing. In the last five years some terrible writing has come out as mainstream, but I won’t name names. My point is […]
September 29, 2015
The Power of Words
I’m not going to go super profound on this one. I’m not talking about the emotional impact of good writing. I’m talking about some of the less recognized impact that even simple words can have. For example: After “The Chronicles of Narnia” became my favorite series in elementary school I adopted a number of British […]
