By Randy Ross Blogging and social media are not the only ways to develop a platform or audience for your writing. In 2013, I spent a chunk of my book-marketing time promoting myself with special events, such as lectures and public readings. The nice thing about special events is that the venue will promote you…
Month: February 2014
The Four D’s: Part 3 – Depth of Character
A Special Feature Series: See Part 1 and Part 2. Writing craft books and writing teachers will tell you that readers read for character. Indeed, the cornerstone of literary fiction is the complex character study. At a minimum, even the most surface-dwelling, plot-driven genre novel needs engaging characters to carry the story. These characters are…
The Four D’s: Part 2 – What is Depth?
A Special Feature Series: See Part 1 here. Resonant stories have depth. Forgettable stories don’t. Literary fiction, for example, takes us deep into the lives of characters and creates complex stories that touch upon the human condition. A good literary novel may resonate with the reader long after the book is finished. Genre fiction, many…
Creative Writing and the Four D's
Dennis Lehane and the Four D’s If you are close to my age, or even a decade or so younger, you may remember a professional athlete whose career spanned the late eighties and early nineties. His name was Bo Jackson. He won college football’s Heisman Trophy in 1985, made his major league debut with the Kansas City…
Photography: Realism Digital Art
By Jacob Surland Realism Digital Art is a term I use to describe the painterly and dramatic effects I’m striving for in my photography, utilizing Photomatix, Lightroom and Photoshop. This one photo, taken in Chicago on the morning after St. Patrick’s Day, turned out as a surprise to me, as I was experimenting with…
