by AnnSheybani | May 9, 2017 | Uncategorized, Writing
When I was conducting writing workshops at East Hill, each year I would share this craft lesson with the students working on not just novels, but memoirs and short stories. I found this post on line years ago, written by a young woman known then as The Intern, and I... by AnnSheybani | May 9, 2017 | Life, Writing
On occasion, I’ll take on a complete manuscript and work with the author to identify what ails it, suggest a better structure (or even genre), pinpoint what’s missing, what generic tidbits need to be cut. Often, I have to sit with it a bit before the... by AnnSheybani | Apr 17, 2017 | Life, Writing
I was browsing LinkedIn this morning when I came across a Steve Chandler quote. (If you don’t know Steve, you really should.) It went something like this: Discipline has nothing to do with personality, it has to do with practice. In other words self-discipline... by AnnSheybani | Apr 9, 2017 | Writing
Lately, I’ve had my head in manuscripts just rife with purple prose. Purple prose, for those of you unfamiliar with the term, is writing that’s so extravagant, ornate, or flowery, it breaks the flow and draws excessive attention to itself. Purple prose is... by AnnSheybani | Apr 3, 2017 | Writing
ADVICE TO WRITERS by Billy Collins from Sailing Alone Around the Room (Random House) Even if it keeps you up all night, wash down the walls and scrub the floor of your study before composing a syllable. Clean the place as if the Pope were on his way. Spotlessness is... by AnnSheybani | Feb 26, 2017 | Reading, Uncategorized, Writing, writing lessons
I’m a huge fan of re-purposing. The question I always ask, lazy git that I am? How can I turn something I’ve spent eons creating into ten other things with next to no additional work? If you’re a podcaster or someone who otherwise interviews folks on a regular basis,...
