Uncategorized directly from a reader 17 Dec 202517 Dec 2025 Samuel Johnson said, "A writer only begins a book. A reader finishes it." We cannot know the experiences and perceptions our readers bring to the understanding of our novels. Patricia…
Uncategorized What I Learned at the University of Iowa’s Two-Week Novel Writing Intensive! 3 Oct 201613 Apr 2024 A poet I met at a writer’s event called to ask me about my experience at the University of Iowa during the Two-Week Novel Writing Intensive. My reply: “There’s…
Uncategorized Roses are read… 16 Jul 20158 Nov 2015 My husband sent me roses. Three dozen. "But he that dares not grasp the thorn, should never crave the rose." -- Anne Bronte He sent them to my workplace and…
Uncategorized The Importance of Desire 5 Jul 201529 May 2016 Desire is essential to storytelling. Need. Longing. What does your main character(s) want? How much do they want it? How far will they go to achieve the person, place, object,…
Uncategorized How do you communicate your stories? 17 May 20158 Nov 2015 Since the beginning of human consciousness, the desire to record stories has existed. Early cave paintings from 15,000 BC in Lascaux, France, hieroglyphics in Egypt, Native American Petroglyphs, and oral traditions through song…
Uncategorized JACK SONNI — ROCKER, WRITER, GENTLEMAN CHEF! 15 Apr 20152 Sep 2023 Trudging through standing water in the midst of a rainstorm, I felt a bit like the mariner who had once lived in the residence at Edgartown on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.…
Uncategorized My Monastic Writing Experience in Orvieto, Italy 27 Mar 201529 Mar 2019 Writers attend workshops and retreats for various reasons. Some wish to hone their skills of description or dialogue, others are seeking inspiration or direction, and then there are those of…
Uncategorized Justen Ahren Demystifies his Monastic Approach to Writing 10 Mar 201529 Mar 2019 As I researched writing residencies and fell upon the Martha's Vineyard Writing Residency at Noepe Center for Literary Arts, there was an additional page on an Italy Retreat. Clicking on…
Uncategorized Good News! 22 Feb 20158 Nov 2015 I've been absent on the blog for a few days -- weeks actually. But there is a good reason. My second novel, contracted by The Wild Rose Press -- the…
auhors… Do you want normal, or do you want crazy? Experiencing Zeppelin Restaurant in Orvieto, Italy!! 21 Nov 20148 Nov 2015 Renee at the window in Hotel Duomo, Orvieto, Italy. Sometimes you hear a phrase, a question, or a comment, and it sticks in your mind like a barnacle to…
Renee Johnson Writes 