Fri, 05 Oct 2007 14:56:16 +0000 Poster for a reading held at a fantastic independent bookstore, Santoro's, in Seattle in 2005. Artwork, oil bars on brown paper, by Caroline Allen. www.carolineallen.com When coaching writers, I begin by asking new clients to create a Writing Commitment Statement. In it, they should address their commitment to the process, specifically: -- How many days will they write a week? -- How many hours each…

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 12:46:46 +0000 Man in sunny courtyard, Budapest, photograph by caroline allen, 2007 How do you begin a story? There are lots of ways writers throughout time have used to build a story. You can begin with a concept, a philosophical idea, a sketchy plot. You can start with a newspaper clipping, a story from your childhood, gossip you’ve heard. A lot of authors begin by developing character,…

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 21:02:08 +0000 Black and white nude, Seattle, 2006, by caroline allen. www.carolineallen.com My entire life as an artist, as an adult, stems from the moment when I became psychic. Many many people ask how psychicness fits into the role of Artist. I wrote about the sudden opening, my initiation into becoming a channeler in my book, Yes this journey is absolutely necessary. In 1993, I was a…

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 16:27:02 +0000 Newburyport nude, 2007, pencil on brown paper sack, www.carolineallen.com A lot has been written about how to get your short stories out to literary magazines, how to polish the stories for final version, how to find mags, how to write a query. Because over the past two weeks I've had the honor of helping two clients polish a story/essay, write queries, find literary journals, and…

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 16:16:45 +0000 Mystical sole, collage on board, caroline allen, 2005 I want to ask my writing clients, and all the writers I've worked with, and anyone out there reading this who is a writer, I want to ask each of you a question: Do you need your own writing website? Is it time? Sometimes it can be extremely helpful to put a presence out there, and even…

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 15:28:54 +0000 Child, acrylic on paper, 2005, carolineallen.com I'm a writing coach, and a professional tarot reader on the side. The energy I use to channel spirit while reading the cards is the same energy that feeds my characters in fiction and helps me express myself in visual art. Recently I did a tarot reading for a writing client, and at one point the reading said: the…

Sun, 20 Jan 2008 22:16:48 +0000 Girl, charcoal on paper, 2007, carolineallen.com In one week of working with writing clients and in my own writing, I came across the following theme three distinct times (usually a sign that a blog needs to be written about it): the differences between writing an essay or short story and writing a novel. Often times for writers, a novel will begin with a short story,…

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 21:39:46 +0000 nudes with violin, acrylic on canvas, 2006, www.carolineallen.com In 2000/2001, I chose not to go to grad school for creative writing. I was accepted into the University of Washington's Creative Writing program in Seattle. I think there were more than a thousand applications and only six people were chosen. So, it was obviously an honor. Why I chose not to go, and how any writer…

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:40:36 +0000 Boy without balloon, acrylic on board, www.carolineallen.com Are you a writer who has always wanted to write, and in fact, did have luck in creative writing courses in high school or college, but you haven't written in years? Your passion to write and inability to do so cause you more than a little despair. Your inability to just do it makes you deeply upset with…