Lisa A. Wroble's Blog: With a Writer's Eye, page 3

Drawing from the Creative Well

Both my writing and teaching draw from a large well of creative energy. Grading papers and editing or technical writing drain it. Some writing sessions energize me while others deplete my creativity a bit. (It depends on the project and where I’m at in my writing process.)

I always seek activities and tasks that refill the creative well. Reading books, watching movies, discussions with friends over coffee, and attending conferences and workshops all fill the well. So do my “productive procrast...

Watching Wild Life

I absolutely love my condo! It’s bright and sunny so I never need to turn on lights during the day. It faces northeast so I receive sun both morning sun (in the front where my office is) and evening sun (in back.) My favorite part of a “writing day,” meaning I’m home working on projects, is eating breakfast on the lanai.

Breakfast includes entertainment. I get to watch the activity on the 2nd tee-off for the golf course in this community. Most of the time this is simply the squirrels in the wh...

Should you “brand” your prose?

The topic of trademarks and using specific brands in stories came up in several different classes this week. Being specific when we describe what a character does, wears, drives, or eats is important, but does your character really need to use Puffs tissues or eat M&Ms candies or chew Orbit gum? Ifyou’vesuccumbed to the notion that you need a “big name brand” so Hollywood will option movie rights to your Great American Novel, think again.

If you must use specific brands in your writing, proper...

In Search of the ‘Perfect’ Journal

Questions continue about writers and journals. Since it’s a tool for your writing, it can be used in whatever manner helps you.Some writers simply keep a notebook to collect quotes, ideas, intriguing names, and record bits of dialog or scenes. I have one of those, too, which I take with me to the park, pool, and beach. Otherwriters think of a journal as a book with entries to collect thoughts and ideas or recollections.

Along with dwelling on the purpose and content of the journal, new writers...

Leibster Award Response

I’ve been nominated for the Liebster Award thanks to Gwen at “The 4 A.M. Writer” What an honor to be recognized by a fellow blogger. Thanks, Gwen!

The Liebster Award is intended to recognize up-and-coming blogs, particularly those with fewer than 200 followers.Here are the rules:

• Post eleven facts about yourself

• Answer the questions posed by your nominator

• Pass the award on to eleven new recipients

• Pose eleven new questions to your recipients

• Post a copy of the badge on your blog (type “L...

Writer’s Basic Training

This week several new workshops started so it was an especially busy week yet also quite enjoyable. I love meeting new writers and guiding toward a writing goal. I also receive a lot of questions about journals. The topic causes anxiety for some people, especially when I encourage them to begin (or continue) journaling.

Keeping a journal is the best way to harness thoughts, memories, ideas and dreams. Thosepenned experiences will provide plenty of details to add realism to your stories. Journa...

Gag the Inner Critic

I overheard interesting conversations before the start of my workshops this week. Students were lamenting ever being “as good a writer” as one of the youngest writers in the group. Others parroted their inner critic with lots of negative self-talk.

One of the biggest problems new writers experience is listening too often to inner voices, what some call negative self-talk. You’ve heard it–those thoughts suggesting your idea is no good or that you’re wasting your time pursuing a writing dream. T...

Intriguing Setting

Dearly, Beloved by Lia Habel

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I'm not into story about zombies but the idea of "reanimated humans" in this book really intrigued me. I read an excerpt through Scribd and HAD to buy the book to finish reading it. I was pleased that I was easily pulled into the story (and followed the plot) though I hadn't yet read the previous book, Dearly Departed.

Nora Dearly is caught between being a respectable New Victorian and following her heart, not to mention her head when a new strain of the Lazarus virus is discovered. She and her friends work to uncover those responsible for inciting anti-zombie sentiment even as nonviolent groups of reanimated humans are caught in the antics of a new "gang" out to kill all reanimated humans. It's a surprise to learn who is responsible and the suspense if skillfully built!

I especially enjoyed the details in this near-future setting with a twist of Steampunk -- or least that's the feeling I had from the story and which first hooked me. I had to read the entire novel to see what other creative details author Lia Habel would include. I especially liked the parallels with today's societal acceptance to those with differences/disease/disfigurement. Not only did I enjoy the plot and the interesting characters and society Habel has created, this book made me think about the assumptions we make about others and how we use that to determine their value in the greater scheme of life. Highly recommend!



View all my reviews

Reading with a Writer’s Eye

The best way to learn to write well is to note how published authors have applied all the writing elements and then trying to do the same in your own writing. Dissect published stories and articlesto see how the pros assemble the writing puzzle.

Select your favorite novel, article, or short story from an anthology or magazine, then read it critically. Consider the following:

• Whose perspective is the story from?

• How is the conflict introduced?

• How does the main character react to the conflic...

Description Comes Alive

This season I created a new writing workshop offered through Collier Adult and Community Education Collier Adult and Community Education in Naples, Florida. It's a writing workshop that focuses solely on critique and revision.

Since students are used to my teaching routine of covering a writing element, having them complete writing activities, and then reading for feedback, this new format was providing a shaky start. So I decided to read an excerpt from a published book or story each week.

Thursday I included description that comes alive in Mr. Monster by Dan Wells. Mr. Monster The main character, a teenage sociopath, John Wayne Cheever, is mesmerized by fire he thinks of "as a precocious dog. Fire was my pet, my companion ..." Earlier in the scene he watches as "the flames licked up the gas and then slowly started in on the wood itself."

My students were mesmerized as the scene continued: "It seemed like a living thing, probing the wood with a thin yellow finger, tasting it, then reaching out greedily and lapping it up." It had the impact I intended; they compared their own description to what they'd just heard me read to improve their manuscripts.

Description Comes Alive when you read with a writer's eye.