-
Purple Blooms by Carol Shields Short Story Analysis
“Purple Blooms” is a short story by American-born Canadian writer Carol Shields (1935 – 2003), included in the collection Various Miracles (1985).
-
Accidents by Carol Shields Analysis
The more you read of [Shields’] stories the more you sense her delight in making connections, moving things on…If Shields had a single subject in these stories it was really solace, the strategies we employ to keep despair, or doubt, or even confusion at bay. Mostly that solace comes from language, whether it be literature or…
-
The Symbolism Of Trees In Stories
Trees in storytelling are symbolically interesting. Some trees have unusual characteristics (distinctive foliage, unusual flowering patterns). These are the trees most heavily mined for their symbolic meaning across culture and therefore narrative.
-
Writing Thumbnail Character Sketches
We see people and things not as they are, but as we are. Anthony de Mello Park: “What did he look like?” Girl: “Well, kind of plain.” Park: “In what way?” Girl: “Just……..ordinary.” Memories of Murder, Bong Joon-Ho (2003) Readers differ in the amount of description they need when reading a fictional character. I remember…
-
Writing Activity: Describe A Park Or Playground
They drove a couple of miles down a rough country road—having turned off the highway and then off a decent unpaved country road—and found a place for cars to park, with no cars in it at present. A sign was painted on a board and needed retouching: “caution. deep-holes.” Alice Munro, “Deep Holes“ Kenopsia: The…
-
What does liminal mean?
Liminal is all about the concepts of transition and shifting ambiguities, categorised by disorientation and a loss of belonging. Who knows, you might be in a liminal space right now.
-
A Brief Taxonomy Of Book Titles
When writing a story, sometimes titles come easily, other times hard. This is something the self-published author has to think about. Traditionally published authors don’t need to get invested in the title. Marketing departments will decide for you. Here’s a secret: many, many, many titles are changed once a publisher gets hold of them. In…
-
Short Story Study For Writers
In the 1880s Brander Matthews said that short stories should be spelt with a hyphen to distinguish between two different forms, which reminds me of the picture book vs picturebook debate. A short story is a story that is short. A short-story proper derives from the Romantic tradition and has its beginnings in myths and legends.…
-
Buildings As Characters In Fiction
Sometimes in literature you’ll hear a setting interpreted in the same way as a character. What does this mean? When should you do this? See: How can setting be a character? This article focuses specifically on buildings as character. Most stories: Setting affects character. In some stories: Setting interacts with the characters. IS HOUSE AS CHARACTER A…
-
Apples In Art And Storytelling
In Judeo-Christian tradition, we have the story of the Garden of Eden. Eve tempted Adam with it. Was it an actual apple, like you’d buy at the supermarket today? In this case, ‘apple’ probably stands in for fruit, which metaphorically stands for temptation of any kind.