http://www.patricesarath.com Writing lessons and the writing life Wed, 10 Mar 2010 02:55:44 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Date: Wednesday, March 10 Where: Hastings Round Rock Time: 6 pm I will also be speaking with the paranormal romance readers group later that evening. Please stop by and say hi! http://www.patricesarath.com/gordath-wood/book-signing-at-hastings-in-round-rock-march-10/ I would like to thank the students of Melony Kempf's classes for being so engaged and interested in my talk this morning at Pflugerville Middle School. I had fun and hope you all did too. I talked about how I started writing when I was a little kid and wrote lots ... http://www.patricesarath.com/gordath-wood/talk-at-pflugerville-middle-school/ Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. --Johann Wolfgang von Goethe I thought the towers were built for me. -- Philippe Petit, wirewalker In 1974 Philippe Petit, the French wirewalker, pulled off a sensational coup. As recounted in the documentary ... http://www.patricesarath.com/the-writing-life/magic-vs-horror/ "One of the things I always tell my kids is that it's OK to head out for wonderful, but on your way to wonderful, you're gonna have to pass through all right," Withers says. "When you get to all right, take a good look around and get used to it, ... http://www.patricesarath.com/gordath-wood/is-this-all-right/ Do prologues work or are they just authors marking time? I added a prologue to GWIII and brought it to my writer's group for their perusal. Here's what I heard: "lacks urgency." "Needs to start earlier at a more crucial moment." "Characters aren't engaged." And my favorite -- "It's a fat ... http://www.patricesarath.com/the-writing-life/to-prologue-or-not-to-prologue/ "Yo, white boy! You just gonna stand there or you gonna play?" Colar started. He’d been watching the black kids play a fluid, fast game of basketball, and kind of forgot where he was. The kid who hollered at him bounced the ball impatiently, waiting. He knew he shouldn’t play. He didn’t ... http://www.patricesarath.com/gordath-wood/colars-story-part-i/ Salon's Laura Miller has an excellent article about what readers look for in a compelling novel. Published writers and aspiring writers can learn much from this column. I especially liked this bit: 3. The components of a novel that readers care about most are, in order: story, characters, theme, atmosphere/setting. Of ... http://www.patricesarath.com/patrice-sarath/advice-for-writers-from-a-reader/ I went out with friends tonight to Momo's in Austin and had what was one of the best nights I've had in a while. Good friends, good music, and a "find" -- a musician we never heard before and we're still talking about. First up was The Vermeers, a friend's band. ... http://www.patricesarath.com/the-writing-life/an-evening-at-momos/ Attention, fantasy and paranormal romance fans in the Austin area: I will be at the Hastings in Round Rock on March 10, signing books and visiting with the paranormal romance readers at their meeting later that evening. When: Wednesday,  March 10 Where: Hastings Round Rock (2200 South IH-35) Time: 6 pm I am looking ... http://www.patricesarath.com/gordath-wood/hastings-in-round-rock-on-march-10/ I went out to the farm again today, this time to ride. Since the main ring is closed because it's still too wet, there was a queue for the round pen, for which we have to sign up. So I got Frisbee, groomed him again (and despite yesterday's hard work, ... http://www.patricesarath.com/patrice-sarath/a-frisbee-in-the-wind/