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Sunday, April 14, 2013

Pen on Fire: A Busy Woman's Guide to Igniting the Writer Within by Barbara DeMarco-Barrett

Love this title!

The author speaks of choosing great titles and knowing when you've chosen the right one. She has the right one here.

I'm about seventy-four pages away from the end of this book and a little behind schedule for timely finishing my allotted library reads.

But still there is much to share from this book. Being a geek, I love her homework assignments. Also her use of a by-the-subject notebook for gathering great words, possible titles, conflict, character names, great first lines to learn from, etc. Here's some additional highlights to tempt you:
  • The economy of language. [Yes! Finding just the exact word to convey our meaning.]
  • Writing is primarily about making sense of things.
  • If you are looking for a plot, take a blank sheet of paper and write down events that have changed your life.
  • Strong emotions lead to intense writing.
  • It's life affirming when life imitates art. It's as if the universe is saying, you are on the right page, your art and life are in sync. It's God's way of saying, "Go for it!"
  • [Trust] that you have something to say, per author Harriet Rubin.
So far, I've gathered eight-and-a-half pages of double-sided college-ruled notes gleaned from her first 188 pages. Just amazing what authors can share with other authors.



Denise Barker, author + blogger + copy editor

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