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Author Archives: ginachoward
Freezing laughter in amber
Put down that pen and look around. As writers, we can get stuck inside our heads, spending more time with our characters than with those around us. Bad idea. We need the real world to inform our writing. The way … Continue reading
Posted in My posts, Random writings
Tagged Gina Carroll Howard, gina howard, memories, writer
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Falling in love again
When a friend recently said he had fallen out of love with his novels-in-progress, I could relate. There are days when I tire of Janelle or feel the plot is plodding. I want to tell the reporter to get a … Continue reading
Posted in My posts
Tagged characters, critique, Gina Carroll Howard, gina howard, novel, plot, revise, writing tips
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Sweat the small stuff
We’ve all seen it – a bruise that moves from the left to right eye after a cutaway, a hat that flies off in one scene but is firmly in place in the next, a lamp broken during a struggle … Continue reading
Feeling the heartbeat
Ron Rash told the Charlotte Observer recently that a first draft is like “an ugly glob of clay on a wheel.” It is an apt metaphor. The best writers discard the unnecessary bits. They use imagery, actions and dramatic tension … Continue reading
Practice makes better
With the insecurities, easily hurt feelings and sense of not belonging, middle school is still the stuff of nightmares. Yet, much as we might want to have avoided those years, middle school experiences are rough drafts for later life. Fortunately, … Continue reading
Posted in My posts
Tagged bioterrorist, Gina Carroll Howard, gina howard, middle school experiences, novel, poetry, revise
3 Comments
Details, details
At sunset on a late June evening, a fisherman sees an empty boat drifting on a northern Michigan lake. Would the man be fishing from the shore, a dock or boat? What fish would he be after that time of … Continue reading
Posted in My posts
Tagged details, Gina Carroll Howard, gina howard, research, write, writer, writing tips
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Delete. Rewrite.
I was feeling pretty smug on Friday. I was going into the weekend with all my to-dos checked off and a little more than 2,500 words added to my novel, excluding revisions. But something wasn’t sitting right with me. The … Continue reading
Posted in My posts
Tagged characters, critique, dramatic tension, Gina Carroll Howard, gina howard, novel, revise, write
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Read to write – and enjoy
Reading is one of my greatest pleasures, and I suspect it is one of yours, too. It’s my treat to myself after I’ve completed the day’s work. If I’m feeling particularly self-indulgent, I’ll put the to-dos aside and curl up … Continue reading
Posted in My posts
Tagged editor, Gina Carroll Howard, gina howard, Heather Havrilesky, Jim Rutenberg, Mark Oppenheimer, New York Times, read, write
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Filling holes
We were leaving our critique group last week, comments and suggestions duly noted, when one of the members began asking me more about my main character’s motivation. Easy questions. I had written her back story before I started the book, … Continue reading
Posted in My posts
Tagged characters, critique, Gina Carroll Howard, gina howard, main character, novel, plot, writing
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Bringing it home
Familial relationships are complicated. And they should be just as complex in fiction as they are in real life. With the oldest child an accused bioterrorist, the Blake family has more than its share of complications. In the ninth chapter … Continue reading
Posted in My posts
Tagged bioterrorist, Chicago Tribune, family, fiction, Gina Carroll Howard, novel
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gina carroll howard 