Kathryn A. Frazier
Your Story. Your voice. the best it can be.
Month: July 2015
Writing Emotions, Part 2: When ‘Show, Don’t Tell’ Goes Bad
All serious writers know the adage, “Show, don’t tell.” Sometimes, though, even good writers with great stories go off track when they try to show, instead of tell, emotion. I’m a copy editor. I’ve seen things. Bad things. Things you don’t want your readers to see.
The Human Condition: A Connection of Pain and Prayer
“I tried that. It doesn’t work!” She screamed at me, when I told her I was praying for her.
I had gone to the hospital to make sure that the hemiplegic migraine slamming the left side of my body wasn’t a stroke. (It wasn’t. I’m fine now.) In the emergency room, with beds separated only by curtains, I could clearly hear a woman’s moans and cries. Each cry injected fresh pain into my already-throbbing head, and my initial reaction was to cover my ears and pray she would stop making so much noise. Instantly, I felt ashamed. Surely, she didn’t want her pain any more than I wanted mine.
Pain is part of the human condition, and sometimes I get so caught up in my own pain that I forget my neighbor is hurting, too. But this time,
The Mechanics of Writing Emotion
In order for readers to care about your story, they need to care about your characters. Even if your writing is more story-driven than character-driven, readers need to understand your characters, and to feel the emotions that your characters feel. As a copy editor,… Continue Reading “The Mechanics of Writing Emotion”
The Third Way Video
In light of the over-the-top bickering that erupted with the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage in the US, I want to share this short documentary sponsored by the Catholic church. I’ve written on this subject before (here), and I’m not going to join in the bickering, so this will be it. I’m not Catholic, but I find this documentary highlighting gay men and lesbians in the church to be respectful, loving, and Scripturally sound–unlike most of what I hear on this subject. If you’re a Christian, please bookmark this and make some time to watch it. It’s 38 minutes long.
Writing for Visual Appeal
Have you ever picked up a book, looked at the number of pages, then put it back down? I have. It’s not that I don’t like reading; I love reading. Some books just intimidate me by their sheer size. It’s like going on a first date and planning a wedding. It’s too much, too soon. With some sweet-talking reviews from people I trust, I might take on a longer book, but as a rule, that’s too much time commitment for me to give to an unknown.
7 Tips for Keeping Your Pet Safe this July 4th Weekend
I love my Scruffy Dog. Truly. It would break my heart if anything happened to him. I hear that more pets are lost on the 4th of July than on any other day in the USA. I haven’t been able to find the source of that statistic, but it makes sense. Fireworks scare animals. It’s up to us humans to prevent loss, injury, or death this Independence Day weekend.
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Kathryn A. Frazier 