Recent Entries

• Meet the Author - Donna Arsenault Bryant

  by Donna B March 22, 2015
  Name a book or series that you can re-read again and again. --Stephen King's The Stand Name an author whose book you could never NOT buy. --Stephen King for one. What was the first book or author that made you want to write? --Edgar Allan Poe and the poem The Raven was what did it for...
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• Edwina C. Geach

  by Donna B March 20, 2015
  I was looking for some lesser known authors to share and the first one I find interesting is Edwina C. Geach (b. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 1870; d. New South Wales, 25 December 1905). How sad she died on Christmas. Of note, and equally sadder still is this quote from the linked blogspot: [q...
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• Classic Rewrite Fun

  by Donna B November 19, 2014
  I was thinking of something fun to do and thought people might enjoy a rewrite of a classic. So, anyone that might want to participate, just hop on over to the Articles section and put your own spin on this popular classic. Rewrite it however you want, including changing it from Christmas to somet...
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• Mistake Number One To Avoid

  by Donna B September 10, 2014
  I've had a novel in the works for a few years. Had it up to I believe about 60,000 words. Since I've not published a novel, I decided about a year ago to enter it in a contest but I had to shorten it to 40,000 words. I edited it, taking out a lot of descriptive words, honing down the characters,...
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• The Book of Shadows

  by Donna B September 9, 2014
  I have this on CD for anyone needing research from it, if writing stuff about magic, Wicca, etc. I had purchased it on CD, with other magic references when researching for my The Key novel that is still being edited and revised for hopeful publication. Here is a reference to what this is, in case...
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• Exploring Characters Exercise Answer

  by Donna B September 7, 2014
  For this exercise, http://literarysocial.com/blog/5/exploring-characters-part-1/ . This is a character sketch so to speak. 1. Norma Jean was short in stature, but as feisty as they come. Her blond hair, blue eyes and ample bosom got her attention from a young age. She loved the attention from men...
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• The Books that We Read

  by Donna B September 4, 2014
  I've read a fair amount of books over time. Found some really great ones and also some that were pure torture to get through. Some I didn't even finish due to a total lack of connection to the characters or story. I recall the first time I read Edgar Allan Poe's, The Raven. It was in Middle School ...
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• Exploring Setting

  by Donna B September 2, 2014
  From Writer's Digest are some good tips about writing your settings for your stories. These tips from author David Morrell should help you write more realistic settings for your readers. In line with that article, let's do an exercise regarding settings. Let's look at what he says here: [quote] So...
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• Time to Write?

  by Donna B April 14, 2014
  So I've done it again. Lost my time for writing to other things that seem to come up. My novella that is done with the second edit now needs a final edit before I send it to publishers. It sits, waiting. I keep saying that I'll put other things aside tomorrow and start on the final edit but then thi...
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• Promoting Your Books in Blogs

  by Donna B March 3, 2014
  It's great that you can and want to promote your books here but a few tips to help you get better promotions. When you make a blog or forum thread for a promotion, please put a synopsis of the book or work you have done so the blog is picked up by Google as their bots reject any that don't have a...
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• My Favorite Genre is Horror

  by Donna B February 1, 2014
  In regards to http://literarysocial.com/blog/4/what-is-your-favorite-genre-and-why/ this exercise. I gravitate toward horror when I write and when I pick books to read. The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe was one of the first things I read that I can consider horror, somewhat. It's such a dark, spooky tal...
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• Why I Write

  by Donna B January 29, 2014
  Regarding this exercise. To be honest I've never really looked at my "why" for writing. I've read other author's answers to the question but never applied it to myself. I discovered a passion for writing back in high school when I would write poems to express myself as I was so shy and writing l...
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