By Sharla Rae No, I'm not discussing sharks. We're discussing the jawline, and writing facial descriptions and emotions. And …  I have another description list for you, too. Recently in her blog, When Writing Is A Full Body Workout, Orly confessed being caught acting out what she happened to be writing, that is, she was […]

By Margie Lawson A BIG THANK YOU to Mega-Talented Laura Drake for inviting me to be her guest blogger today! Writers are all powerful. Well, in their fictional worlds they are all powerful. Two of the 74,386 story dynamics that writers control are expanding time and compressing time. Today we’ll focus on the most fun […]

By Sharla Rae Let’s face it, mining for the best expression of emotions whether it’s body language, gut reactions, internalization or dialogue can be like panning for gold. A lot of useless grit is sloshed around before you hit pay dirt. Picture this: You’re sitting at your computer; the sun is shining through the window […]

By Sharla Rae Have you ever people-watched and tried to guess by facial expressions and body movements what people are feeling or thinking? This non-verbal communication of emotion, state of mind or state of physical well-being is known as body language. Body Language is one of the most artistic and useful tools in the writing […]

By Sharla Rae We’ve all experienced brain freeze and no, I don’t mean writers’ block. Writers’ block is when you don’t know what comes next in the story or you’ve written yourself into a corner and can’t find a way out. Think of brain freeze as a frozen lake. All the fish are still alive […]