by Jan Bear | Jan 27, 2004 | Uncategorized
“Yeah, she runs good,” Steve said. He stroked the door of the 1971 Volkswagen bus with an expression of pride and longing, as if it were a faithful horse too old to work the ranch. I opened the driver’s door and put my head in, smelling the nostalgic...
by Jan Bear | Jan 26, 2004 | Uncategorized
I’m participating in Yahoo! Groups’ NovelMentor Writing Warmups. We are doing daily exercises based on the book A Writer’s Book of Days by Judy Reeves. Our assignment today was to describe the contents of someone’s closet. It’s done in 15...
by Jan Bear | Jan 24, 2004 | Uncategorized
In a bid to spend some quality time with my teen-aged daughter today, we rented Alex & Emma, a work of romantic fluff by Rob Reiner, noted on the cover as the director of When Harry Met Sally. I’m not a big fan of When Harry Met Sally, but it’s...
by Jan Bear | Jan 22, 2004 | Uncategorized
Two sources come together for some insights into character, both on the page or screen and maybe even in real life. Robert McKee draws a distinction between characterization and character. Characterization is the outward manifestation of character, all the physical...
by Jan Bear | Jan 21, 2004 | Uncategorized
I just took a One-Minute Vacation in Jalisco, Mexico. It was fun. I had never been that far into Mexico before, and a couple of guys were playing marimba in the marketplace, with people walking by talking Spanish, and I could almost smell the wares of the food...