Ask writing students why they write and you’ll usually arrive at a common spread of answers. Think about it yourself. If you’re reading this blog because you’ve decided to write for a living, what made you choose this path?
Tagged: Being a Writer, Motivation, Writing
I recall a moment just over three months ago with the release of the Harry Potter script “The Cursed Child” when something unique happened. It gave me so much joy.
Tagged: Harry Potter, Literacy, Reading
Sometimes I feel like a moon shot spat out of a gravitational lasso, missing a planetary caress while I’m trying to be the best person I can.
It had been a tough couple of weeks. One of those periods when your head fills with cobwebs and the strategic picture flashes like a poorly fit neon sign pulsing an annoying buzz each illumination cycle. “Eat at Joe’s” it might say for a brief time but you’d know the gravy would be lumpy and the ketchup rimmed with crust. So you walk by.
Tagged: Olivia Bartley, Olympia, Self Talk
I had the pleasure of giving some advice the other day to someone thinking of starting as a specialist writer. So I thought I’d post the crux here, based on what I’ve learned from personal experience and from the lessons of many others for it may just help you too.
Tagged: Writing Tips
The death of David Bowie, recently led me on an exploration: a peek into his life’s work. And it brought an unexpected realization taken from his point of view, one that’s a nightmare for every creative.
Tagged: David Bowie, Failure, George R.R. Martin, Motivation, Winds of Winter
Every now and then I’m moved by an author to praise his or her work. Yet, sometimes a subject, its research, its prose simply bedazzles and in the case of fashion expert Dana Thomas’s book, “Deluxe How Luxury has Lost its Luster”, I’m eager to declare it a feat of business journalism.
Tagged: Couture, Dana Thomas, Luxury
The real beauty of writing for me is its rhythm; some call it cadence. Without ever knowing the art of rhetoric, I sensed it as a child. Maybe for me it came growing up in an era of black and white TV, where sitcoms were still in the process of creating their genre and Yiddish shtick coupled with vaudeville’s zest held sway. For me, there’s another aspect to the ebb and flow of writing: its physical structure. A writer communicates not merely with vocabulary and syntax but with layout. Long paragraphs, short stanzas; punctuation, variation … Line breaks. They’re absolutely fundamental for image, voice, and impact. So much so, that I don’t think it’s yet been fully realized how quickly this essence is lost when…
Tagged: Cadence, Writing Voice
The love of writing lives on the cutting floor. In editing we find things about our words and style we never imagined. Doors swing open and mastery stands in the room. When you can cut 1000 words by half for publication, you know you’re on the way to professionalism. You’re absolutely satisfied. You’ve bid your ego adieu. Yet, your creativity remains. © 2015 Adam Parker.
Tagged: Editing
The beauty of fiction writing and story telling is looking over the shoulders of characters and seeing a world from their points of view. Not necessarily using their eyes—but ours in judgment of the time they spend. Do we crave to stand in their shoes? Are we rather, relieved we don’t? You see, the essence of fiction is criticism: our right to accuse characters of a bad shoe choice or even wearing them wrong. Which makes me wonder whether Cinderella was just great commentary all along? © 2015 Adam Parker.
Tagged: Fiction
Adam Parker Presents
You must be logged in to post a comment.