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Movies about writers

3 Comments »9th March, 2007; Category: Authors, Movies, The Writer's Life

I have been looking through our video and DVD collection. I was suddenly aware that we have a number of films featuring stories about writers. Some of the movies are based on the lives of real writers. Other films feature a fictional character who is a writer.

A quick list from our library would include:

  1. Iris: based on the life of writer Iris Murdoch.
  2. Shakespeare in Love – based on the life of the bard himself.
  3. Finding Neverland – based on the life of J.M. Barrie.
  4. Moulin Rouge – a struggling author is the lead character.
  5. Romancing the Stone – the main character is a novelist.
  6. Jewel of the Nile – ditto.
  7. One Fine Day – a main character is a journalist.
  8. My House in Umbria – the main character is a novelist.

What movies have I missed?

I haven’t seen the new movie Miss Potter yet so that is one to add to the list (and my collection).

I know there must be many more titles to add to this list. Add your suggestions in the comments below.

Eight Short Story Starters

34 Comments »8th March, 2007; Category: Fiction, Short Stories, Short Story Starters, Writing Hints

The short story starters I have included on this site from time to time have proved to be very popular. If you are looking for ideas to start you off with writing short stories, look no further. I have already written a number of lists of these short story starters – just click on the links at the bottom of this post.

Here is the latest list of ideas, all with an animal or bird theme:

  1. The moment I heard the old raven’s mournful cry, I knew my day was going to be a challenge.
  2. I looked around the room. It had been thoroughly trashed. A piercing screech from behind me made me jump. There was a large parrot sitting on the curtain rail.
  3. Barney bounded off after the rabbit, barking wildly. A sudden yelp came from behind the bush. Barney came slinking back to me, blood dripping from his nose.
  4. The first thing I noticed about the room was the dead goldfish.
  5. The beautiful eagle swooped quickly towards me. I could see its outstretched talons.
  6. I peered past the tent flap. The red fox was not aware of my stealthy stare.
  7. It was obvious at once that the pelican’s wings were entangled in fishing line.
  8. “Don’t sit there,” she commanded. “That’s the cat’s chair.”

Conditions of use:

  • Feel free to use any of the story starters listed above. Change anything to suit your needs.
  • Give it your best shot.
  • Edit your work carefully before sending it off to a publisher or posting it on your blog.
  • Let me know in the comments section how it went.
  • If you publish your story on your web site or on your blog let me know so I can make a link to it for others to read.

Related articles:

So there you go.

Good writing.

Writing Hint #22: Strategies to keep you writing

2 Comments »7th March, 2007; Category: The Writer's Life, Writing Hints

Some days the words just seem to flow from my mind down to my fingertips and on to the keyboard without any effort at all. Some days I have to really work at my writing, crafting every word. And some days it is like trying to make a living out of being a Fowl Dentist.

I like the quote I came across recently and I can’t remember the exact words or who said it, but this person said something like this:

Writing is easy. All you have to do is stare at a blank piece of paper until drops of blood appear on your forehead.

Procrastination and writer’s block are very real problems for some writers. Discipline is the key but we each demonstrate that in different ways. Some writers have a natural inbuilt discipline to sustain them each day; to them it’s not a problem. Others are so motivated they wonder what the fuss is all about. But many writers struggle.

If you are struggling with procrastination or writer’s block you might get some good ideas from this article:

Some of the ideas are odd, some are downright kooky, but there is enough there for everyone to get at least a handful of techniques that they can use to great effect.

Related articles:

  • Writing hints – over 20 articles I’ve written with many writing hints.

Happy First Birthday!

4 Comments »6th March, 2007; Category: Blogging, Blogs, Events, The Writer's Life

This blog is officially one year old today.

Happy First Birthday to my writing blog.

It has been an interesting journey of discovery, frustration, elation and a very steep learning curve. This blog commenced while I was staying with my son and daughter-in-law in Sydney last year. We were having a short holiday there and Simon did all the technical stuff setting up my three blogs. He still does all the maintenance on our blogs.

Thanks Sim’.

What have I learned?

  1. Connecting: The writer’s life can be lonely at times – but on the positive side, I’ve made many contacts with people all over the world through their comments and links to this blog and my other sites. Thanks to all of you.
  2. Selecting: The blogging world is an interesting place to live in; there are many wonderful writers who are forward looking in their thinking and express that in their writing. There’s just not enough time in each day to read it all, so one has to be very selective.
  3. Focussing: The writer’s and blogger’s life needs to be very focussed on the task at hand. The internet can be a huge distraction and hours just fly off into the unknown leaving little time for the real work of actually writing.
  4. Absorbing: There are so many things one needs to learn how to do to make the writer’s life and one’s blogging ventures successful. At times I felt like a giant sponge soaking up all the information about this new venture. Putting it all into practice was a challenge. Sometimes, like the sponge, I felt so bloated; at other times all wrung out and dry.
  5. Rewarding: Being able to write over 900 blog posts for the last year has been very rewarding, giving me a great sense of achievement. Having a readership in the many thousands every month has its own rewards, especially when people connect via comments, some returning frequently. Receiving my first payment from my blogging was another reward and, though modest at this stage, it is a start.

So there you have it.

Happy First Birthday.

Reader’s Questions:

  • How long have you been blogging?
  • What have you learned from writing and blogging?

Idiom #17 An Ugly Duckling

No Comments »5th March, 2007; Category: Idioms

This week’s idiom: ‘An ugly duckling.’

Meaning:

An awkward, ungainly, unattractive child who develops into a graceful, beautiful adult is said to be an ugly duckling.

Origins:

The expression comes from the Hans Christian Andersen story called The Ugly Duckling. It was first published in 1843 and is widely regarded as a classic children’s story.

A mother duck hatches her brood only to find one duckling larger and uglier than the rest. He was very much a misfit and soon received much harassment from the other barnyard residents who eventually drive him away to fend for himself. After a struggle to survive the ugly ‘duckling’ develops into a beautiful swan.

The moral of the story is that inner beauty will always overshadow outer appearance. Interestingly, the Wikipedia article goes into a deeper analysis than I have here, postulating that this story is possibly a metaphor for Andersen’s own unhappy life.

Example:

As a child she was such an ugly duckling, but look at Sarah’s beauty and grace now.

Australian Wood Ducks with ducklings

Australian Wood Ducks with ducklings

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