Category Archives: The nature of story

reflections on writing and reading

Writing poetry as story telling practice

Posted on October 7, 2014 by cathyhird

Being new to twitter, I just discovered the poetry prompts there. While most of them lead to love poems, I’ve been trying to let them spark a fantasy type poem. Something like this: Prompt: deep inside Light a tiny flicker … Continue reading →

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Why Tweet

Posted on June 20, 2014 by cathyhird

In my day job as a protestant minister, writing is interactive. I know my audience, so as I prepare, I often have one or two of them in mind. I know the basic shape of their lives and  easily and … Continue reading →

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complex story

Posted on May 14, 2014 by cathyhird

I don’t usually post sermons here, but this one was interesting because although it had a single point to make, the round about route and variety of images meant  those who heard it or read it reacted to very different … Continue reading →

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Writing takes work but it’s worth it!

Posted on November 15, 2013 by cathyhird

When I was 16, having read Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings for the fourth time, I tried my hand at writing fantasy. A dismal failure. Way too derivative. I gave up, except for one university assignment where I successfully told … Continue reading →

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Practice with poetry

Posted on June 10, 2013 by cathyhird

We have all read “smart” poems, the ones that work an established form effectively or present a well-crafted metaphor. Then there are those with a good message that we can read on appropriate occasions. We approve of these poems. But … Continue reading →

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I love the way storytellers today pull us into the perspective of different characters. From George R R Martin with The Game of Thrones to Maggie Stiefvater in The Scorpio Races, the author shifts perspective from one main character to … Continue reading →

Posted on April 11, 2013 by cathyhird | Comments Off on Perspective

Stories don’t need to be disinfected

Posted on March 27, 2013 by cathyhird

 Recently, for work associated with my day job, I compared four similar stories. Scholars interested in “real” history argue that these reflect two separate events. What interested me most is that the two different strands were woven together in the … Continue reading →

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