C.C. Yager's Blog, page 7
November 17, 2018
Still Standing
One of those weeks when life intervenes in ways unexpected and unwanted. I was quite ill this past Wednesday and continue to recover. No formal post here this week. I hope to be back to my usual self next week, … Continue reading →
November 10, 2018
Being a Writer
“You can’t write.” My father said that to me, looking me straight in the face over a beef stew dinner, and with a voice that held finality in its tone. I’d just announced to my family that I’d quit my … Continue reading →
November 3, 2018
Perceval’s Shadow: Revision Work 3
My revision work has begun to settle into a kind of routine: I work on a hard copy of a chapter, making changes in ink by hand. Every couple of chapters completed this way I boot up the computer and … Continue reading →
October 27, 2018
To Sex Scene or Not to Sex Scene
Sex scenes can be truly difficult to write and write well so that they move the story forward or reveal character or both. The question I usually ask myself — how does this scene reveal character or move the story … Continue reading →
October 20, 2018
Revealing Character Through Language
How does a writer reveal character in a story or novel? The usual answer is through action, speech, and then there’s also description. For these 3 elements, the writer uses various tools, of course, but the most basic are words, … Continue reading →
October 13, 2018
Language
In On Writing, Stephen King comments that readers never ask writers language questions, i.e. how does a writer come up with the right language for a story? Or a character? Dialogue? It’s hard work, actually. I’ve been thinking a lot … Continue reading →
October 11, 2018
Just Published!
The Minnesota Orchestra has published an essay that I wrote about my first concert experience with the music of Gustav Mahler. Check it out!
October 6, 2018
How do you define Success?
Success. Everyone wants it. But what is it, really? I’m also curious to know if different countries define success differently based on their cultures. That curiosity arises from American society’s fixation on financial success as the only kind of success … Continue reading →
September 29, 2018
Dear Stephen King
As I’ve been working on the first revision of Perceval’s Shadow, I’ve been feeling inadequate, terrified, and drowning in a writing ocean in which I’d chosen to swim (why did I? I hate swimming). Thinking I could use encouragement and … Continue reading →
September 22, 2018
Perceval’s Shadow: Revision Work 2
I love revision work. It challenges. It’s hard. It frustrates. It slows me down and forces me to think, to imagine, to turn to my imagination to help me. This is the place I’m in now with the second novel. … Continue reading →
