Foreshadowing: Layers of Writing, Layers of Consciousness

foreshadowing cloister-102491_640So if you remember my post about cultivating inspiration, you’ll know that I’ve been re-reading all my favorite books and using them to launch myself whole-heartedly into my own WIP. I’m now reading my favorite book on the planet, A Prayer for Owen Meany, which I’ve read at least twenty times. You’d think by now I’d have the entire book memorized, yet every time I read it, I see something I never saw before. This time, I’ve been acutely aware of foreshadowing.

If you’re not familiar, foreshadowing is a literary device authors can use to hint at some action or meaning to come later in the book. It can be handled in many ways, from a subtle allusion to a 2×4 upside the head. Earlier this year, our own Laurie Boris wrote a post about the most ham-handed way to foreshadow, aka telegraphing. As I’ve been reading Owen Meany, however, I’ve been struck by the more ingenious ways to foreshadow, ways that — had I not already read the book twenty times — I would probably completely miss.

It got me to thinking: why do we foreshadow? Why is it attractive for the author? Why, when it’s well done, is it gratifying for the reader? Continue reading “Foreshadowing: Layers of Writing, Layers of Consciousness”

Remember to Celebrate Being an Author

celebrate being a writer pixabay glasses-213156_640It’s so easy to get bogged down trying to earn money from our writing endeavors that we forget to celebrate the fact we are writers! That is an awesome thing, a huge accomplishment and something so easily brushed over.

Nowadays, authors don’t have the luxury of simply thinking about story structure and intelligent prose. Indie authors in particular have to wrap their heads around the entire business of writing — marketing, finances, taxes, promotions, working with editors and cover designers, getting reviews, staying on top of social media, figuring out good business practices…a whole plethora of things. I, for one, am not particularly good at some of them and it’s a real battle some days to sit down to spend time doing the necessary evils so that I can continue to write for a living. Continue reading “Remember to Celebrate Being an Author”

Read a Banned Book

2015-banned-books-graphicOne day my fourth-grade teacher peered into my desk, where I’d stashed a copy of a popular and slightly controversial novel I’d borrowed from my mother, to entertain myself with during free period. Mrs. Prusak wasn’t amused. She pulled me into the hall and asked, “Do your parents know you’re reading that?” Continue reading “Read a Banned Book”