Category Archives: Craft

Writing Tips

Thursday Thoughts: Universal Detour

Posted on October 14, 2021 by Silver James

Writing is hard. I don’t care how fast you write, how much prep you do, there will always be roadblocks. Real life intervenes. Ideas dry up. Characters act up. The plot goes off the rails. You write yourself into a … Continue reading →

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Dream Time

Posted on October 7, 2021 by Silver James

Australian Aboriginals, like Native Americans, have a special place for dreams. Down under, it’s called the Dreaming Time. Many native tribes here in the US refer to it as a vision quest. If writers are smart, will follow their examples. … Continue reading →

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Black Moment

Posted on September 30, 2021 by Silver James

“Black moment? What is this thing of which you write?” “I mean, like, dudette, you talkin’ about one of them black holes or something?” “No, no, y’all. She’s talking about when the lights go out–you know, like with a power … Continue reading →

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda

Posted on September 16, 2021 by Silver James

There’s an old saw about 2020 hindsight. What does an old saw have to do with sayings that have been around so long they’re original usage is lost anyway? You’d have to go back to about 1595 and the weird … Continue reading →

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Long and Short

Posted on August 26, 2021 by Silver James

Writing should be easy for writers, right? Yeah, about that. Writing is a process and all of us have our own way of connecting the dots, mapping the route, crossing the Ts. Some of us can sit down, stare at … Continue reading →

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Click

Posted on August 19, 2021 by Silver James

This struck me for two reasons. Well, probably more, but two right off the top of my head. One, it’s a nice message to get and hang onto in dark times. Two, isn’t this the way a lot of romances … Continue reading →

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal POV

Posted on August 5, 2021 by Silver James

So…writing hasn’t exactly been easy-peasy for…oh…quite awhile now. Writing was something I always did. If I wasn’t writing, I was thinking about writing because the stories were all there, milling about in my head just waiting for me to jot … Continue reading →

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Fortunetelling

Posted on July 22, 2021 by Silver James

So. I used to tell fortunes. Sort of. Very seldom for others, usually for myself. I used tarot cards. And I once tried Viking runes. I never got an intuitive feel for them like I did the tarot. I used … Continue reading →

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Choices

Posted on July 8, 2021 by Silver James

When I first opened this message from the Universe and read through it, I thought: Whoah! This sounds like my writing process. By now, you know I’m a puzzler. I start with a basic framework and the story just sort … Continue reading →

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Senses

Posted on July 1, 2021 by Silver James

An instructor of a creative writing class I took one time insisted that every scene needed to have all five senses represented or it wasn’t a complete scene. I dutiful covered all the bases with each assignment. My characters smelled … Continue reading →

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