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Leanne Rose Sowul

Writer. Teacher. Musician.

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Five Ways To Study Characters

January 17, 2017 by Leanne Sowul 2 Comments

I spent the past two weeks getting reacquainted with the characters for my second historical novel, BLIZZARD (still a working title). After writing the first draft over the summer, I took a break from the book to let things marinate. I’ve decided that much will be changed in the second draft. Most of the characters will retain vestiges of […]

Filed Under: Craft Tagged With: blizzard, character, description, draft, mind-map, retreat, study

Habits To Make, Habits To Break

June 17, 2016 by Leanne Sowul 2 Comments

My recent reading has been putting my recent writing to shame. This is completely understandable: I’m writing a first draft, and it’s a normal part of the process to “hate your work but power through” on a first draft. I’m not supposed to be crafting beautiful phrases or pulling creative descriptions out of thin air; I’m […]

Filed Under: Writer's Life Tagged With: character, description, habit, metaphor, plot, simile

Rescue: A Puzzle

April 5, 2012 by Leanne Sowul Leave a Comment

I love Anita Shreve. She writes the way I want to write: with simple language but poignant description, themes of family and relationships, and a tug-at-your-heartstrings quality. Rescue, the most recent of her books, had all of these things, and yet I found something lacking. The story follows Peter Webster, known only as Webster, from his […]

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: anita shreve, characters, description, novel

Taste the Words

November 1, 2011 by Leanne Sowul 1 Comment

I love good food. I love good writing. Therefore, I adore good food writing. Last week in my creative writing class, the professor passed around a short story by Jhumpa Lahiri, author of The Namesake and Unaccustomed Earth (both of which are on my to-read list). The story was called “Indian Takeout” and it described the […]

Filed Under: Writing Tagged With: cake, description, food, hunger, india, jhumpa lahiri, magic, sensory, short stories, vassar

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