the well written - hilary mantel

Anne's lovers are phantom gentlemen, flitting by night with
adulterous intent. They come and go by night, unchallenged.
They skim over the river like midges, flicker against the dark,
their doublets sewn with diamonds. The moon sees them,
peering from her hood of bone, and Thames water reflects
them, glimmering like fish, like pearls.

- Hilary Mantel, Bring Up the Bodies

By Charles Warren Eaton

from unexpected places - vintage stamps

What stories can be found in the opening of a letter, the sealing
of one, the placing of the stamp, ink on fingers, pen and paper
left on desk, the walk to the mailbox... These are from the
stamp club pool on flickr.  How many different tales can you
brainstorm from these miniature pieces of art?

The contents of this letter threw Elizabeth into a flutter of
spirits in which it was difficult to determine whether pleasure
or pain bore the greatest share.
- Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

on writing - the synopsis

A. Howitt recently posted advice on Mythic Scribes about how to
write a great synopsis to go with your stellar query and sample pages.
She gives examples from her own work too.  A synopsis, she says, is
painful to write because it gives away the secrets of our stories, but it
is often necessary, so we must make it as compelling as possible.

1. Make the first sentence count:

Write one long sentence describing your novel.  Perhaps take
something from your query letter that you loved, and ramp it up a bit.
Here’s mine:

From a life of comfort, on the arm of one of Brazelton’s most
powerful men, Raven is cast into a world of shape-shifters and dragons,
when an unexpected letter changes her life forever.

I chose to write about the first plot twist, and set the tone for the rest of
the journey.

2. The tone of the synopsis should convey the tone of the book:

The last thing you want is a synopsis that reads like, “This happened,
then these people went here, and then this happened…” You need to let
the agent know what she’ll be reading, and the best way to do that is to
demonstrate your tone.

By Nicole Sharp

illustration - stephen mackey

Mackey describes his own work as densely painted and highly 
mannered.  He seeks perfection in each of his pieces and wants 
them to seem stumbled upon, organic, natural.  I think he's
achieved his goal.  Most of his work does look like a snapshot
of a story, like you turned the corner and found this strange
thing waiting.  His work also makes me think of a perpetual
Wonderland, only for adults.  It's beautiful, melancholy, a bit
off pitch in a haunting way.  (Via the Extra Finger)

On another note, I've posted before about how Ray Bradbury
advises writers to make word lists of the things that make you
drunk on life - nouns coupled with verbs or adjectives that give 
you this special feeling, a feeling that you can then 
communicate to readers in a story.  Mackey's list of precious  
feelings is as follows:
1. Scotch and water
2. The seashore and glockenspiels (like xylophones)
3. Sunlight on rough seas
4. Rose-flavored things and coffee
5. Around-the-house clothes  

 Hopefully you've been keeping your list up too. 
 

on reading - jessamyn west

Fiction reveals truths that reality obscures.

- Jessamyn West

By Lorenzo Mattotti

photo stories - vintage spirits

These are from the vintage spirit photography group on Flickr.
They depict purported phenomena that took place during
seances and interactions with mediums.  Many have proven
that effects like these can be hoaxed, but still, these may offer
interesting source material for your next great story.

The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do
something extraordinary. Now you're looking for the secret...
but you wont find it, because of course you're not really
looking. You don't really want to know. You want to be fooled.
- Christopher Priest, The Prestige

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Happy new year, everyone!  May 2013 be full of
achievements, steps in the right direction, ideas,
dreams, busy hands and fingers, well written words,
and wonderfully told stories for all of us.

By Sith Zam