Tue, 10 Jun 2008 21:30:42 +0000 View from the studio, digital photography, www.carolineallen.com Characterization is essential to good writing, whether you're writing memoir, short stories or novels, or even a dynamic journalism feature article. How do you do good characterization? First, I tell clients: You should feel the character as if they're in the room with you. If you can't, you haven't painted a strong enough picture. They should ultimately take…

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 14:54:09 +0000 shattered windshield, digital photography, www.carolineallen.com Last night, after a long and stressful trip, I needed to veg out. I hit the button on my remote that shows you a list of what's on cable television. Do you ever have those moments when you're so hyper aware that you see through everything? Nothing seems normal, everything is a metaphor. Well, it's what happens to me often…

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 14:45:31 +0000 the studio, on engaging beauty in a broken world, www.carolineallen.com Sometimes writing clients come to me with a short story or an essay they would like coaching on. I am happy to read these and provide feedback, but I also notice that a common misunderstanding occurs in the psyches of some writers who focus more on product (a finished story) than on the writing process.…

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:07:55 +0000 paper doll, mixed media, www.carolineallen.com I received several emails about the Product vs Process blog, where I discussed the need to focus more on the writing process than on the product. Each person asked for clarity on what process really means. When you're writing a short story, an essay, or a chapter of a novel or memoir, as you are doing so, you learn how…

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:40:42 +0000 Purple nude, acrylic on board, 30x20, www.carolineallen.com As writers, sometimes we tap inadvertantly (and sometimes consciously) into collective thought. As we're writing, we become channelers. We're not in control. I think it's an artist job to channel, not only our own truths, but those affecting society. Sometimes, the collective thought we tap into is one of great negative force. We write a terrorist scene in…

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 09:39:37 +0000 photo: textures of Budapest, Caroline Allen In these pages, Art of Storytelling (AofS) writers journal their writing process as they work on novels, memoir and short stories. AofS, a coaching service for writers, gives one-on-one weekly support to writers and nonwriters attempting to write short stories, novels and memoir. See the web site for more details. www.artofstorytellingonline.com AofS writers will regularly explore in this blog…

Thu, 05 Apr 2007 17:45:49 +0000 painting: Caroline Allen, 2006, acrylic on canvas, Enchanted Forest, Cape Alava, Washington Blogger: Caroline Allen Title: Art of Storytelling, owner Bio: see www.artofstorytellingonline.com for bio Last year, 47-year-old Sulley Keehnel came to an evening writing class in Seattle. A serious quiet student, he sat in the back. I am always amazed by which two to three students in every class of approximately 20 I teach…

Wed, 25 Jul 2007 12:17:48 +0000 Crocuses, Seattle, WA, Photograph by Caroline Allen Creativity requires an influx of the sensual. In modern office buildings, malls and homes, we've moved far away from the organic sensuality of the earth, of farm and forest, of river and mountain, that so fed human creativity in the past. Engaging all of the senses is crucial to powerful writing. But to engage those senses in our…

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 10:43:28 +0000 Wheel of Fortune, Mural, 10 feet high, Budapest, Hungary, housepaint on wallpaper Years ago a friend of mine in London, a woman I honoured and admired who wrote monologues for the BBC, suggested I “set my intent”. What she explained to me was this: everybody lives their life on soulful assumptions organic to their nature, organic to their purpose on this planet. We do this…

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 13:54:39 +0000 Click here to order the book You're thinking, I'm tired of just working and not doing anything creative. I want to do Art, be it writing, photography, visual art, music, or dance, or anything that excites the artist within. Why is it so hard to begin? Why is it so hard to maintain the process once you do begin? Why do you do some artistic…