How to write believable characters

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 22:33:28 +0000 Statue at Kerepesi Cemetery, Budapest, www.carolineallen.com I've been working with Julie for four years. She's writing a fascinating novel, where half of the novel is set in Medieval Wales and the other half in modern times. The protagonist has lived both lifetimes. Read more about Julie, as well as an excerpt here. http://www.artofstorytellingonline.com/#!__site/case-studies Because Julie has based some of the events in the novel on…

Workshop: Writing and Shamanism Revisited

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 13:20:20 +0000 Harold's boat, digital photography, www.carolineallen.com Because of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and other disturbing weather patterns, I’m holding a Writing and Shamanism workshop dedicated to our role as writer in helping heal the earth in early August in Seattle. The workshop has been developed to help a range of writers, from the new and fledgling to the more experienced. (You do not need…

Grammar and spelling and punctuation, oh my!

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 01:15:04 +0000 I had an interesting conversation with a friend while camping in Maine over the weekend. Lisa is an art conservator (www.mehlinconservation.com) and she has to write reports for her work. We got into a discussion on correct grammar. I'd never talked to her about my belief that writers must make all sorts of grammatical errors and spelling mistakes, typos and punctuation gaffs. Not that writers…

Writing and September 11th

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 16:04:24 +0000 Budapest Cemetery, December 2006, Photograph by Caroline Allen This past Tuesday, the sixth anniversary of the World Trade Center disaster, I was talking to a friend about the anniversary and about being a writing coach. I realized as we were talking that most of my business stemmed from the events of September 11, 2001. At that time, I had given up being a journalist and…

Let the bitch run free…

Sat, 15 Sep 2007 15:55:07 +0000 the three graces, acryclic on canvas, by caroline allen www.carolineallen.com The protagonist of my first novel Earth is named Pearl, as is a metaphor for the black pearl, as in rare and dark. I recently finished the third draft of the novel in Budapest. After I dotted the last i, I felt I’d hit an underground cable, some deep vein, because afterwards, I was fucked…

I am the devil

I am the devil. Yes, that's what they tell me, these people who see my art or my lifestyle, and back toward the door holding up some object that wards off their notion of evil. feel like I've just entered another level with my fiction writing and artwork. I'm channeling a rich vein of creativity, coming deeply from a dark place, coming darkly from a deep place. I don't know why,…

The PC Trap

2010-05-27 14:59:10Thu, 27 May 2010 14:59:10 +0000 Self portrait, the inner anorexic, www.carolineallen.com I knew an artist who after having an abortion used dolls for an art project -- she ripped off their arms, blackened their faces and hung them by their necks from the rafters. Too gruesome? I certainly hope so. The single greatest oppression to the artist spirit is political correctness, and it seems to me that PC attitudes…

Art of Storytelling is Hiring an Intern

2012-10-06 18:44:41Sat, 06 Oct 2012 18:44:41 +0000The Art of Storytelling is hiring an intern in the Portland, Oregon area. With clients all over the globe, Art of Storytelling's coaches and editors work online with creative writers on novels, memoir, screenplays and short stories. We help excavate a writer's authentic voice, evolve that creative expression step-by-step, and finally help clients get published. Want to be part of a highly creative and exciting…

Finding your Passion: The Fear of Reprisal

2015-07-06 21:03:48Mon, 06 Jul 2015 21:03:48 +0000 My first novel, Earth, is semi-autobiographical, a fictionalized version of my childhood in Missouri. I was meditating the other day on how to increase book sales and was given this message: You fear reprisals. Your fear is holding the book back. This fear is universal. It keeps many from speaking their truth. It is even deeper than that. People fear reprisals for following their passion, following their bliss.…

"Who Do You Think You Are?" The Top 5 Blocks For Writers

2017-03-27 00:02:50Mon, 27 Mar 2017 00:02:50 +0000 The book coaching process, especially at the beginning, can be a very safe space. The coach is there to nurture the new writer, to allow experimentation, offer inspiration, provide support, and pass on constructive advice. We aim to OPEN the writer, and that only happens with unconditional love for the person and the creative process. I've coached hundreds of people on book, script and…