Tag Archives: #driventowrite

The Drive to Write ~ Introduction

What drives you to Write? Where do you find motivation to write and keep writing? If I had to answer this question left to my own devices, I would offer some touchy feely reply about letting my imagination fly, coming up with interesting concepts for my stories, the ability to create worlds like ours or […]

June 4, 2014 – 6:05 am | By Eduardo Suastegui | Posted in Essays | Tagged , | Comments (2)

Bring on the women into our story-telling

Have you noticed how most stories you read or watch have fewer women than men? Does it bother you that in a world where women actually outnumber men (OK, by a small margin) most stories treat them as a by-the-way minority? How do our stories suffer when we tell them in a world nearly devoid […]

June 2, 2014 – 6:10 am | By Eduardo Suastegui | Posted in Essays | Tagged , , | Comments (4)

Write with your Heart

Should you write what you know? Have you frozen to a stop when facing a topic or story because you realize how little you know? Do you fear that writing only what you know will limit your writing? A recent blog post by a fellow writer caused me to consider these questions anew. You can […]

May 31, 2014 – 6:45 am | By Eduardo Suastegui | Posted in Essays | Tagged , | Comments Off on Write with your Heart

The 4 Cs of Storytelling

I used to ask what made a great storytelling photograph. Now I ask a similar question about written stories, and the answer keeps coming back with 4 Cs: Concept, Characters, Conflict and Context. I’ve heard a lot of broad arguments for what makes a great story, what makes it real and relatable, but for me […]

May 27, 2014 – 6:15 am | By Eduardo Suastegui | Posted in Essays | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The 4 Cs of Storytelling

When to start the story? In mid-stride!

I like to start my stories in the middle of the action. No setting descriptions. No background. No lengthy inner dialog. I just jump headlong into it and hang on to see what happens. I don’t know if this is the right way to start a story, but it appeals to me personally. When I […]

May 7, 2014 – 8:15 am | By Eduardo Suastegui | Posted in Novels | Tagged , | Comments Off on When to start the story? In mid-stride!

How does this story end? Escalate

Whether you’re like me and don’t outline your stories or you outline them to the last detail, if you don’t know how your story ends, you have a lot of head-scratching coming. Lately not knowing how my story ends has bothered me a great deal. I think I have that great hook of a beginning, […]

April 27, 2014 – 7:18 am | By Eduardo Suastegui | Posted in Essays | Tagged , | Comments Off on How does this story end? Escalate

Find that driving Voice

Haven’t you heard? Agents are looking for writers with a strong voice. As I shop and submit my work through the usual wickets, I keep reading statements like that and have to wonder whether we’re hearing — and reading — voices in all the wrong places. Why do I say that? One simple statement guides […]

December 27, 2013 – 4:34 pm | By Eduardo Suastegui | Posted in Essays | Tagged , | Comments Off on Find that driving Voice

A thousand words and word pictures

A colleague once told me that while it may be true a picture is worth a thousand words, a bad picture causes a million questions. This and my exploration of story-telling through imagery, namely photography, and creative writing, with a mixture of essays — mostly about photography — and fiction has led me upon more […]

December 24, 2013 – 12:51 pm | By Eduardo Suastegui | Posted in Essays | Tagged , | Comments Off on A thousand words and word pictures