Timewaster's Guide Archive

My only comment/suggestion would be to flesh out a bit more of the wife/husband relationship (like Nessa said), it lends more power to the loss the character is feeling if the reader is involved with it at the same time.

I agree to this one. Sometimes, characters that don't appear have very heavy influence of characters on pages; for this reason, it's important to flesh out the wife.

I remember reading Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams back in highschool. Though the father character never appears and never utters a single word, the whole family is the way they are because of this father character, whose only connection to the readers/audience is a large portrait of him in the room. I think your wife character is similar in this way.

Actually I have a similar story I am working on and that's what I learned from other critiques: the dead/missing/gone wife figure isn't quite solid, at the least to the husband character, that story sometimes seemed weak.

Perhaps you can write up a paragraph of who this wife is..when she was born, when she died, how she died, when they got married, where they got married...do they have any children, does she have any children (could be her second marriage)... I think these info may never appear in your writing but it's something true to the 'dead' person and may even come to affect the life of your character.

Hey fellow writers,
...
What is your way of getting through, over, under, passed, and around it?

I wonder if not writing for couple of days (weeks?) count as a symptom of writer's block. In my case, it's distractions...life, as others call it.

I think motivation a big issue for me. There are couple of projects but I need to finish current one...and I can't seem to find time. I read somewhere spend each 5/15 minutes and just grind through...

I know I go through these phases where I am all hyped up but then the itnerest suddenly cools...despite deadlines and what not.

Any suggestion to get out of this slump besides stealing a kid next door or quitting a day job for pizza delivery?

Well, I came to this forum via Writing Excuses. I posted a question on their thread, but I think this place may be more appropriate.

I heard this on the podcasts and read it else where: it's the style and/or voice that sells the book.
(My understanding of this 'voice' is the tone of the narrator, be it 3rd person or 1st person narrative. Perhaps this is not correct.)

I have also heard that style and voices are not something you can develop...it's a natural talent.

Obviously this causes a problem for me. I know I lack many talents required of a writer but if I can not develop a style and voice that will make me a successful writer, what can I do?

I read somewhere that everyone has a voice...but I just don't want any voice. I want a voice that will sell...and I can't develop it!?

I feel there is something I am missing here... 

If someone already answered this question, please direct me to appropriate place.

Thanks~