by David Colin Carr | Sep 24, 2013 | Uncategorized, Writing
September 23, 2013 This week I’ve been doing a read-through of a novel about sexual abuse of boys. The reason the author feels this is a topic not much written about is at the heart of the book: the shame. Especially in a culture that treats homosexuality as aberrant,...
by David Colin Carr | Sep 17, 2013 | Editing, Uncategorized, Writing
I could have titled this “Beautiful Beyond Words.” I’m curious what you would make of that phrase if you saw it in a book. I’m afraid I interpret it as: the writer doesn’t fully understand what s/he wants to say the writer has no imagination the writer has limited...
by David Colin Carr | Aug 12, 2013 | Editing, Uncategorized
I’ll start the same way I began my last post: I’ve been working with a client on an extraordinary memoir that starts in an idyllic Mennonite farm family in Kentucky and tunnels into a violent marriage that engenders her rage with God. What I heard myself...
by David Colin Carr | Jul 24, 2013 | Uncategorized, Writing
I have a client who developed an outline for her novel a couple of months ago. It has a lot of single action short chapters. Today I received an email from her: I’m stuck. I was writing three chapters a week before I went home for vacation. And I want to set a goal of...
by David Colin Carr | Jul 16, 2013 | Uncategorized, Writing
To make every word count, weigh its capacity to either carry the story forward or invoke a setting or atmosphere. Note the word “invoke.” Rather than telling your reader what to feel, trust her to feel what is evoked out of her own experience. It is possible she’ll...
