Linda K. Sienkiewicz's Blog, page 42

It’s Not the Same Old Vacation Spot

First Cape Hatteras Vacation, 1985

Since 1985, when our youngest child was ababy, our family has vacationed on the beaches of Cape Hatteras inthe Outer Banks of North Carolina.

“Doesn’t that get boring?” a friend asked. “Why stay at the same place year after year?”

Maybemy friendthinks: You’ve been there once, so you’ve seen it all. Check it off your list andmove on to another destination.

I don’tthinkthat way. Neither does my family.

Why the same old, same old?

First of all, when you’re va...

What, Why, How: Audrey Mei

What?

It’s a chunky book that doesn’t fit into one genre. Historical fiction? Magical realism? Asian literature? Speculative fiction? Family saga? World-fabulist-diverse-immigrant-adventure? Yes, a little bit. To all of these.

Trixi Pudong and the Greater Worldisanovel that tells the tale of four generations of a Chinese family, torn between their deepest dreams and loyalties. There is war and revolution in China, a captain and his sons sailing the world on a rusting container ship, a glamoro...

What, Why, How: Libby Cudmore

What?

I write for two weekly newspapers, The Hometown Oneontaand The Freeman’s Journal, as well as daily content for our news website. I never saw myself as a reporter; my dad was the editor of our local paper, but I wanted to write fiction, not facts, plus I was a touch on the shy side when it came to interviewing people. But my husband started working as a photographer, and the editor, Jim Kevlin, asked if I would be interested in writing for them. I had just lost my teaching gig, so I said...

Isn’t it Ironic? Words that Trip Me Up

A language fail is the worst kind of fail, especially if you’re a public speaker or a writer. From Travis Bradberry’slist of20 commonly misused English wordshere’s the ones that trip me up the most, with clear easy-to-understand descriptions:

Ironic vs. Coincidental

Bradberry writes:A lot of people get this wrong. If you break your leg the day before a ski trip, that’s not ironic—it’s coincidental (and bad luck).

Also coincidentalis the pouring rain on your wedding day, or a traffic jam whe...

What, Why, How: A.J. Norris

What?

I write paranormal romance and romantic suspense. Currently, I have the first book in my paranormal series out and the second is releasing August 23, 2016. The first book in the Dark Amulet series is called Her Black Wings and features a less than law-abiding woman in her early twenties that is murdered, but before her death she saves a little kid and earns a chance at redemption. Along the way she falls in love with the angel sent to help her, whostruggles with his own problems. The id...

Don’t Go Easy on Dialogue

Ali Luke’s guest column on “10 Easy Ways to Improve Your Dialogue” on Write To Done made me reflect on the thingsI’ve learned about dialogue over the years. There are easy waysfor improving your dialogue, but don’ttake the easy way out. Don’t write the first thing that comes to mind. That’s being lazy.

Go beyond what’s easy.

1. The best dialogue reflects what’s not being said, such aswhen charactershide things, are “less than truthful,” ordodge answering questions directly.

2. In every conve...

What, Why, How: Elizabeth Kerlikowske

What?

As a writer and teacher, I have always had a relationship with paper and structure. My current obsession is lampshades. I take them apart and rebuild them in more interesting ways. I had a friend who was experimenting with water on silk shades, and she inspired me. Later my daughter was having a bad day, and I knew the cure was making something. We put an old lampshade on a broomstick, and she squirted paint on while I spun it. The shade isn’t that great, but it did the job.

Occasion...

Brief History of a Forty-Year Long Marriage

The Luv Pub

It sounds like a cliche: I met my husband after last call in the Brown Derby Luv Pub in Independence, OH, wherepeople danced on a lighted discofloor to a live “house band.” There might have even been a mirror ball. I was just twenty years old and got into the Luv Pub with a fake ID. I worked as a waitress in a upscale Chinese Restaurant while going to art school,and he was pounding nails as a carpenter.

So long ago! I thought he was cute with his mop ofblonde hair and embroideredw...

What, Why, How: Lisa Orchard

What?

Before I became an author I was an Insurance Agent for thirteen years. I met people from all walks of life and gathered all kinds of material for my stories. I’ve known I wanted to be a writer ever since fifth grade, but it wasn’t until I decided to stay home with my kids that I began to pursue publication.

My first novel The Super Spies and the Cat Lady Killer is the story of three quirky teens who discover the dead body of the Cat Lady and how they bring the killer to justice. There a...

If that man were you – a video

ThisYouTube video is a reading of an excerptfrom In the Context of Love.

Second-person Narrative

Angelica talksto (the absent) Joe, recalling the time they drove down Route 21past the steel mills and factories into downtown Cleveland. The time setting is in the mid-seventies.

If that man were you…

“Cuyahoga Iron Works, Republic Steel, and Cleveland Steel & Tubes pumped the blackest, most foul-smelling smoke into the sky, but the open-hearth furnaces fascinated me. Flaming tongues rose from o...