Welcome, Brave Writers.
O Writers! Do you Suffer from Writer's-Block? The Fiction-Writing Directorate can Help!
Our Exhortations will Inspire you; our Exercises will Strengthen you; and the Ancient Art of Shiva Nata will Enlighten you.
Read! Write! Flourish!
Or Else.
Subsiste statim sermonem et scribe.
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By Ethelie, on March 6th, 2010%
O my little Robins! I have a special Treat for you today!
So many Agents are Frustrated, Afraid, Struggling, Overwhelmed. You are Daunted by the Vastness of the Task before you; you Doubt your ability to do it Well; you are Busy with the Multitude of Interests and Responsibilities that make up your Life; You are Swamped by the Demands and Expectations of Others; you simply don’t Want to.
But I promise you, my Darlings: if you have the Time and the Courage and the Freedom to read these Words, you have Everything you need to create Miracles in your Writing. The task . . . → Read More: Training Exercise #21: The Five-Minute Miracle
By Ethelie, on March 4th, 2010%
O my little Pumpkins!
A common Complaint of new Agents is that they lack Ideas. “Woe!” they cry; “my Font of Inspiration is Dry, and no new Stories spring Forth.”
“Pshaw,” I tell them, Sternly, though most of them do not believe that “Pshaw” can sound Stern until I demonstrate the Technique for them. “Ideas are all Around you; you have only to Reach out your trembling Hand and grasp them.”
Begin like So:
1. Select the nearest Volume, whether of Prose or Poetry.
2. Open the Volume at Random.
The nearest Volume was Mr. Redgrove’s “Bygone Beliefs.” I flipped the Pages aimlessly, and my finger chanced . . . → Read More: Training Exercise #20: Random Inspiration
By Gustav, on March 3rd, 2010%
As promised in my Introduction, a Brief History of the Fiction-Writing Directorate. From the notes of Miss Callista Cornelius, transcribed from the handwritten original and annotated by Gustav Tauszig. Posted despite acts of violence and coersion.
Miss Cornelius was a striking young woman, and it is an honor to present her notes to you.
Miss Callista Cornelius
November 15
Arrival at the Directorate. What a bore this job looks to be! I’ve been commissioned to write some sort of pamphlet about this stodgy old literary society, the sort of thing they give to their members around the holidays, and everyone stands awkwardly around . . . → Read More: Miss Cornelius Arrives
By Ethelie, on March 2nd, 2010%
O my little Petunias! Today’s exercise is most Delicious. All you must do is these three simple steps:
1. Consider the Fiction you have read recently. What have you most Adored? What has Inspired you? What has Delighted you? What has Challenged you?
2. Pen a Letter of Gratitude to the Author. Many Authors can be found on their Web-Sites; others may be reached via their Publishers. Tell the Author how much you Enjoyed his or her Work. If the Author you admire is no longer Living, simply send the Message via the Usual Channels.
3. In the course of your Contemplation and Letter-Writing, . . . → Read More: Training Exercise #19: Enthusiastic Thanks
By Ethelie, on March 1st, 2010%
O my little Harpsichords! A fresh Month is Upon us, and what better time to Consider fresh Beginnings?
Your Excercise:
Write three marvelous Beginnings. Yes, yes, some of you Performed this Exercise last Month; to you I say, one always needs Fresh Beginnings. Why, when I was in Training as a Directorate Agent, we were required to write Five fresh beginnings Each Morning before Breakfast! ‘Twas a most felicitous habit, and one which has Served me well.
Record your Beginnings in your Note-Book, or type them as Comments below for all to marvel at . . . → Read More: Training Exercise #18: Begin Anew
By Ethelie, on March 1st, 2010%
O my little Morning Glories! March is Upon us, and all around me I see signs of the Season: the muddy Traces of the Kraken’s tentacles amid the Flower-Beds by the Reflecting Pool; the unseemly Howls of the Verb-Bitch in Season; Daffodils and Crocuses trampled by the restless Graves of the Zombie Sherpas.
It is all quite Hideous, yet even I am not immune: I feel a long-forgotten and unspeakable Stirring, and feel compelled to Act. My Goodness. That simply Will Not Do, so I shall, as always, Channel my Energies into the Fiction-Writing Directorate.
I have made such Grand Plans for March, . . . → Read More: On the Exuberance of March: An Exhortation
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