Joan C. Curtis

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Writing out of a Writer’s Slump #AuthorToolBoxBlogHop

June 19, 2018 By Joan Curtis 21 Comments

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This post is part of the #AuthorToolBoxBlogHop. You’ll find many more posts for writers with tips, information about reading and writing at the hop. Just click here and join the discussion. I’ve been in a #writer’s slump for the last several months. Click To Tweet I finished a manuscript that I’m sending out now for […]

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Filed Under: Author Toolbox Blog Hop, Motivation to Write, Thoughts on Creativity Tagged With: #authortoolboxbloghop, creativity, publishing, writer's block, writers slump

How to Release Your Subconscious. #AuthorToolBoxBlogHop

April 18, 2018 By Joan Curtis 16 Comments

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The left side of our brain is always working away. It interferes with almost all our daily thoughts. That’s where our logical thinking exists. It’s where most writers spend the majority of their time. Particularly if they are in the editing mode. In fact, without the critical thinking of our left brains, we’d never be […]

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Filed Under: Author Toolbox Blog Hop, Thoughts on Creativity, Writing Tips Tagged With: #authortoolboxbloghop, creativity, Every Word Has Power, Left Brain, Right Brain, writing tips, Yvonne Oswald

Creating Characters that Walk off the Page #AuthorToolBoxBlogHop

January 16, 2018 By Joan Curtis 17 Comments

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Recently I hosted a little gathering at our local library and talked about my books and fiction writing. One of the questions I was asked during the workshop was how do I make my characters seem so real? What are the secrets to creating characters that seem to walk off the page?  All of us […]

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Filed Under: Author Toolbox Blog Hop, Characters, My Thoughts, Thoughts on Creativity, Writing Tips Tagged With: #authortoolboxbloghop, character motivations, characterization, creativity, imagination, Johari Window, psychologists, writing tips

Writers as Lone Wolves with Lots of People in Their Heads

December 4, 2017 By Joan Curtis Leave a Comment

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Most #writers spend their days in solitary work #amwriting Click To Tweet They sludge away at their computers, coming out for brief interactions with the fridge. Their thoughts day and night center around their characters and what they are up to. There’s never a dull moment even though their days look dull from the outside. […]

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Filed Under: Fiction Writing, For Readers, Thoughts on Creativity Tagged With: actors, characters, creativity, fiction writing

A Writer’s Desk or a Cat’s Meow?

September 13, 2017 By Joan Curtis Leave a Comment

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Here’s a photo of my writer’s desk #amwriting Click To Tweet What do you think? Conducive to writing? I don’t think a lot about my writing environment, but it is important to occasionally stop and take a look around. Many writers have to have quiet in order to go inside themselves and into the world […]

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Filed Under: My Thoughts, Thoughts on Creativity, Writing Tips Tagged With: creativity, writing desk, writing tips

Tips for Writing from your Imagination

September 6, 2017 By Joan Curtis Leave a Comment

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I recently finished reading, My Name is Lucy Barton, by Elizabeth Stout. This Pulitzer-Prize-winning author created a compelling story in this new novel. I plan to review it next week. Meantime, I wanted to examine how writers write from their imagination. Terry Gross on the nationally acclaimed radio program, Fresh Air, asked Stout if the […]

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Filed Under: Characters, Fiction Writing, Thoughts on Creativity, Writing Tips Tagged With: characters, creativity, Elizabeth Stout, imagination, My Name is Lucy Barton, Terry Gross

A Time to Work and a Time to Rest

May 24, 2017 By Joan Curtis Leave a Comment

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The creative mind cannot work in a pressure cooker #writingtips Click To Tweet If we want people to come up with new ideas or create exciting stories for books and films, we must allow them time to rest and sleep as well as work. Perhaps we’ve always known this truth. Often people ask writers about […]

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Filed Under: Fiction Writing, Thoughts on Creativity, Writing Tips Tagged With: Charles Darwin, creativity, day schedule, rest, work

Can #Writers Break the Rules? You BetCha!

January 23, 2017 By Joan Curtis Leave a Comment

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As a reader, I love it when writers break the so-called rules #amreading #writingtips Click To Tweet The more seasoned writers get creative with point-of-view without violating the main principles. They use more wordy expressions than I might and they challenge the basic rules we all hear–like not writing prologues. Sometimes there are so many […]

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Filed Under: Fiction Writing, For Readers, Writing Tips Tagged With: creativity, J.K. Rowling, Muriel Barbery, Risk-taking, Rules, The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Writing

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 Durrells in Corfu. Lessons about Confidence and Taking Risks

November 21, 2016 By Joan Curtis Leave a Comment

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  I’ve been watching a new #Masterpiece series, #DurrellsPBS in Corfu #TV @masterpiecepbs Click To Tweet It’s the story about how a young widow and her four children pack their bags and leave England for the island of Corfu. The oldest of the Durrell children is Lawrence Durrell (Larry to his family). He is a […]

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Filed Under: Fiction Writing, For Readers, Thoughts on Creativity Tagged With: Alexandria Quartet, creativity, Lawrence Durrell, Masterpiece, PBS, rejection, The Durrells in Corfu, writing tips

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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
  • All Writers Experience Rejection. Even Charlotte Bronte April 11, 2018
  • Tips for Making Your Books More Pleasurable to Your Readers #AuthorToolBoxBlogHop March 20, 2018
  • Do Academic Writers Make Good Novelists? March 14, 2018

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