Jilly: Stories That Stand the Test of Time

Universal Themes

Universal Themes

Why do some stories continue to capture the public’s imagination for years, decades or even centuries?

I’ve been thinking about that a lot recently. It started with Outlander. We’ve been talking about the book and the Starz TV series in Kat’s posts here, on our private blog, and in a polite but robust email discussion this week about whether the plot is palatable to a modern audience. Somewhere in the mix, somebody (pretty sure it was Kay) said something like: I always wonder, why this book?

Then last Thursday I Continue reading

Jilly: Still Life – A Quick Trick For Writing Character

Small still lifeIf you had to choose half a dozen objects to depict your life or a certain aspect of your life, what would they be? And what would your characters choose, for themselves and for each other? I did this exercise for real a couple of weeks ago, and the result is the picture to the left of this text.

The story started at RWA in Atlanta last year. My husband and I went to visit a friend who lives in the city, and I fell in love with a painting I saw at her house. It looked like traditional still life, but on closer inspection Continue reading