Blog: Beanstalk Ink
The childhood story, Jack and the Beanstalk, is a brilliant parable for creative people. The world sometimes thinks creativity is useless, tossing away its seeds in favour of something more practical and financially reliable. But we know if we water and look after those seeds, they can grow into something beautiful. I hope this blog will entertain and encourage you—whether you are a reader or a writer—to climb your own beanstalk, slay your giants and reach for the heights.
Recent Posts
Should Authors Design Their Own Book Covers?
Should authors design their own book covers? I did. Here's what the experience taught me ... You probably have heard the age-old saying you can't judge a book by its cover, but that's bad advice for an author. People judge books by their cover all the time. The first...
Resistance is Futile!
Resistance is the psychological force that pushes back against us when we try to create. In the realm of physics, resistance reduces to the ability of a wire to conduct electricity. The larger the resistance, the less electricity passes. In the same way, resistance to writing holds back the creative flow.
How to Keep Wagging Your Tail During a Pandemic
One of the most encouraging and helpful voices emerging on social media last year, was Pluto, a miniature schnauzer who has been ‘breaking the internets’ with her wisdom and humour in these tough pandemic times. In honour of Pluto and the other dogs and cats encouraging us humans for the past year and a half, I decided to invite my dog, Nikita-the-ShiChi, to guest blog today :).
Should the pandemic shape the settings of our novels?
One of the dilemmas authors face if we write contemporary fiction or begin our speculative stories in a present-day setting, is whether or not we should refer to the Covid-19 pandemic. I’ve written one young adult (YA) novel and I’m currently developing a contemporary, amateur sleuth mystery series. My problem is that both stories begin in the ‘present day’. Do I acknowledge the pandemic, or not?
When Characters Have a Life of their Own
Have you ever felt as if your characters have taken over your story? In one of my works in progress my characters keep taking over the narrative. I want the tale to go in a certain direction and voila I wake up the next day and the characters insist on doing their own...
