Posts by Lee Martin
Cutting, Filling, Adding: Tips for Revision
Yesterday, I fired up the mower and gave our lawn the first cut of the season, thereby ending a winter of having nary a thought about the dormant grass. As I mowed, I took note of a dandelion or two, a bit of clover, and broadleaf—intruders each and every one. I also noted a bare…
Read MoreTry Again: Suggestions for Dealing With Rejection
I’ve always loved the sport of basketball, so this time of year—NCAA tournament time—is one I savor. I was especially looking forward to it this year because my beloved University of Illinois was a number one seed and many people’s pick to get to the championship game. Alas, number eight seed, Loyola of Chicago, upset…
Read MoreIt’s Time: Prose and the Ticking Clock
Once again, we’ve reached the season for setting our clocks forward an hour and entering daylight saving time. Just like that, we jump ahead with that hour of our lives to be recovered in the autumn when we go back to standard time. This jump ahead, which brings us longer light, isn’t without its challenges.…
Read MoreIrony as Plot Strategy
Last week, along with my students, I was thinking about irony and how it can often be a useful strategy in constructing plots. Here, then, is an example from my forthcoming memoir, Gone the Hard Road, offered up here in hopes of being useful to anyone wishing to add resonance to their narratives. One day,…
Read MoreTo Say the Secret Things: Tips for Memoirists
I’m sure we’ve all had the experience of swapping stories with a group of friends, maybe out on the patio on a summer’s evening, or back in the pre-pandemic days at a dinner party. Someone starts to tell a story and then hesitates and says something like, “I really shouldn’t be telling you this.” Maybe…
Read MoreAnd Then What Happened?: Plot in Short Fiction
Jhumpa Lahiri’s story, “A Temporary Matter,” opens with this sentence: “The notice informed them that it was a temporary matter: for five days their electricity would be cut off for one hour, beginning at eight P.M.” Eerily resonant with the shocking news out of Texas this past week about the cold weather and the failure…
Read MoreA Valentine’s Day Wish for Writers
Here on Valentine’s Day, a winter storm is approaching. Actually, two storms are meant to hit a wide swath of the country this week. It’s sunny right now here in central Ohio, and people are out in force, laying in supplies. Tonight, though, the snow and ice will be here, and then the temperatures will…
Read MoreFirst Date: A Valentine
A mile east of Sumner on Route 250, the entrance to Red Hills State Park beckons. This is the land of night fisherman, weekend campers, and teenage lovers. When a boy takes a girl to Red Hills. . .wink, wink. . .well, everyone knows it’s not just to talk. But that’s exactly what we do.…
Read MoreSubtext and Irony
My dear wife Cathy recently posted a meme on Facebook that featured two cats. One cat has its ears flat, its eyes closed, its lips pulled back, and it’s easy to believe the cat is laughing. If you don’t believe that, there’s a caption to convince you: “Me laughing at my own joke.” Beside this…
Read MoreWriters Setting the Stage: The Importance of the Authentic Details
In the opening of the 1984 film, Country, starring Sam Shepard and Jessica Lange, there’s a shot of a kitchen table, and on that table is a set of waffle glass salt and pepper shakers with aluminum tops. I still remember the chill of recognition I got right there in the movie theater when I…
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