Joan C. Curtis

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Who or What Pulls Your Strings?

January 18, 2017 By Joan Curtis Leave a Comment

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I’m sitting at my computer today, thinking about the world, fearful of the future and wondering who or what pulls your strings. Who and what makes you do what you do? Who motivates you? Having just listened to Meryl Streep’s moving speech at the 2017 Golden Globes, I wondered what went through this great actress’s […]

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Filed Under: Fiction Writing, Motivation to Write, My Thoughts Tagged With: Maria Altman, Martin Luther King Jr, Meryl Streep, motivation, passion, the Woman in Gold, Writing

#MyReview Chains Deserves More than 5 Stars!!!

January 16, 2017 By Joan Curtis Leave a Comment

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Some #books just blow you away @halseanderson Click To Tweet Laurie Halse Anderson did that in her trilogy beginning with Chains. A National Book Award finalist this book deserves all its awards. In celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday, I timed reading this book perfectly. It’s hard for a white person to understand the […]

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Filed Under: For Readers, Reviews Tagged With: Chains, Laurie Halse Anderson, Revolutionary War, Seeds of America, Slavery

Unconventional Uses of Point-of-View

January 11, 2017 By Joan Curtis 1 Comment

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In my last post, I talked about how to avoid abusing point-of-view. Head-hopping is the worst possible way to write #writingtips #amwriting Click To Tweet I call it cheap writing because the author simply jumps from head to head. It is easy and takes no creativity. When forced to stay in one head or in […]

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Filed Under: For Readers, Thoughts on Creativity, Writing Tips Tagged With: Clare Mackintosh, creativity, I let you go, Jodi Picoult, Leaving Time, Markus Zusak, point of view, The Book Thief

The Messiness of Point of View

January 9, 2017 By Joan Curtis Leave a Comment

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By now, if you’ve been reading my blog, you know how much I detest head hopping #writingtips Click To Tweet It  is distracting and cheapens the writing. That doesn’t mean I don’t like hearing what other characters are thinking. There’s just a way to do that correctly. As a reader, I love the way writers […]

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Filed Under: Fiction Writing, Writing Tips Tagged With: first person, Liane Moriarty, point of view, third person, writing tips

Anyone Can Write Goals–AccomplishingThem Takes a Lot More!

January 4, 2017 By Joan Curtis Leave a Comment

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Before I started writing full-time, I was a communication coach. One of the things I did with my clients was to help them establish their goals. What did they want to accomplish? What was holding them back from their dreams? What would it take for them to accomplish their goals. It’s one thing to set […]

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Filed Under: For Readers, Motivation to Write, Writing Tips Tagged With: 2017, accomplishment, goals, New Year, resolutions

Can You Judge a Book by its Cover?

January 2, 2017 By Joan Curtis 6 Comments

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I’ve joined a new blog team with monthly themes. This month #Inkripples is talking about book covers. Check out the other bloggers and what they have to say about book covers at Mary Waibel’s World at Katie Carroll Observation Desk and at Kai Strand’s blog. Book covers are often cause writers more headaches than pesky commas #bookcovers […]

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Filed Under: For Readers Tagged With: All the Birds are Singing, Book covers, book marketing, death scene, Devil's Music, eMurderer, The Clock Strikes Midnight

What Are Your Writing Goals for 2017?

December 28, 2016 By Joan Curtis 2 Comments

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Can you believe we are at the dawn of another new year? Amazing! #writing #goals Click To Tweet As each day passes us by, we often wonder what we’ve accomplished from day to day. Many of us are simply trying to stay above water. Keep all the pieces in place–whether it’s that demanding job with […]

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Filed Under: Motivation to Write, My Thoughts, Writing Tips Tagged With: 2017, goals, Jenna scali, Writing

#MyBookReview The Storied Life of AJ Fikry

December 26, 2016 By Joan Curtis Leave a Comment

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This is a hard review to write. I found The Storied Life of AJ Fikry entertaining, but with major writing flaws. The characters are interesting if not too well developed. I couldn’t really see the main character (AJ Fikry) in my mind’s eye. Nonetheless, as a reader, I wanted good things to happen to him […]

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Filed Under: For Readers, Reviews Tagged With: AJ Fikry, book review, books, POV, readers, Writing

I May Be A Good Writer, But I’m a Lousy Editor!

December 21, 2016 By Joan Curtis Leave a Comment

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Editing is the bane of my existence #amwriting #amediting Click To Tweet I know some writers are also good editors. They catch every little comma error or word left out. They see all the echoed words and shake their fingers at me when I misspell so common a word as “quiet.” What in the world […]

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Filed Under: Fiction Writing, For Readers, Writing Tips Tagged With: editing, Writing, writing tips

My Best Book Ideas Come from My Friends

December 19, 2016 By Joan Curtis Leave a Comment

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When I’m looking for a good book to read, my best book ideas come from my friends #amreading Click To Tweet Indeed, my book club has unearthed a few, but the very best books are those my friends recommend. I’ve thought about this phenomenon. I read book reviews. I study what people are reading on […]

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Filed Under: For Readers Tagged With: A Man Called Ove, All the Light We Cannot See, books, Friends, The Hare with the Amber Eyes, The Lost Painting, The Orphan Train, Word of mouth

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Recent Posts

  • Writing out of a Writer’s Slump #AuthorToolBoxBlogHop June 19, 2018
  • How to Release Your Subconscious. #AuthorToolBoxBlogHop April 18, 2018
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