Like a carnival fun house, I entered a venue for ‘abnormal arts’ in North Hollywood on Saturday, July 19, 2014. Why? To experience, for the 1st time, live readings of Shades and Shadows. I believe it was Beetlejuice’s cousin that took our ten bucks and stamped our hands before we entered the colorful and bizarre courtyard. I was delighted to find author Natashia Deon of ‘Dirty Laundry Lit‘ in attendance.
CRUZAN: Details
In the video below, Catherine Cruzan (author of Elfkind) explains how important it is to know the back-story of each of your characters in order to bring forth their distinct thoughts, actions, and reactions as they move from page to page in the story.
CRUZAN: Focus On The Moment
Cruzan further explains why the build up of a scene is not the story. She also shares how important it is to make sure the story, not the character’s back-story, fills the pages and enthralls the reader.
CRUZAN: Craft
In regards to your creative projects, Cruzan highly recommends that you learn your craft, practice your craft, and perfect your craft enough to find the voice you want to present to your audience before you publish your written work because it is that voice critics and readers will judge worthy, or not.
Photos, Interview & Video by Sophia Ann Montoya
