Please check out my website at dorisvontettenborn.ca
I didn’t plan to share any of this. But then I read Austin Kleon’s ©Show Your Work. He says to pull back the curtain, lay it all out there, messy scribbles and all
Not because it’s polished. Or finished.
Not because I know what I’m doing.
But because I want to show what happens before the tidy version — the rough drafts, the sideways sparks, the moment the pen moves and I have no idea why.… Continue reading →
My new word of the day.
This is a story structure used commonly in the East and rarely in the West.
I find that very interesting and very telling.
Here is the description of the structure
Ki: Introduction: sets the stage, introduce the main characters
Shō: Development: The story develops naturally, situations unfold
Ten: Twist: a pivotal moment—unexpected turn of events
Ketsu: Reflection on the twist, how characters respond, closure
Notice nowhere does it say conflict or even inciting incident.… Continue reading →
Chapter One
Love at First Sight
Duchess trembled with anticipation. If the house was anywhere near as beautiful as the listing photo, she knew this could be her new home.
Ron, the real estate agent from Orchard Bay, eased the car onto the gravel drive. The road curved through dense foliage, red cedars, ferns and tall maples, and graceful weeping willows.… Continue reading →
I have a vision for a cozy fantasy book.
The idea has changed multiple times, truth be told!
The thought went from being a novel, to being an episodic release.
First of all, I would like to connect with readers, in a meaningful way.
Interactive even.
For example the title was going to be Tales from the Enchanted Dreamweaver Forest.… Continue reading →
Photo by Mehmet Can Özgümüş on Unsplash
A month ago I was working on the project I had been
tackling for about six months. It was a big beautiful messy project
that morphed from autofiction to fantasy.
Me: 😱
Also Me: Didn’t see that one coming.
No, I truly didn’t. I wasn’t expecting it, but the project just got bigger and bigger.… Continue reading →
Yesterday I wrote about the challenge being almost over and what I learned from it.
I am wondering what to write about today.
Also I am wondering why I wrote that yesterday. 🤔
Today is about deciding whether to keep doing this,
move to another platform, or add another platform,
what was the point, and what do I do from here.… Continue reading →
Today is day 31 of my 30 day
writing challenge on Medium.
So it’s kind of like a bonus.
The actual challenge was for 30 days.
I decided to do a 33 day challenge.
I forget why.
It was something about some spiritual something.
I think.🤔
So today is like a bonus.
Or it doesn’t really count.… Continue reading →
Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash
I finally posted to Facebook yesterday.
It is one thing to fling words into the vast windy emptiness of Medium.
It is another thing entirely to post in front of people who know me.
The tech part made it worse.
Something with a banner image and sharing links and Medium being Medium.… Continue reading →
I was writing the Big Story.
My own Muse benched me.
Also, yesterday I exposed my Inner Naked Baby to the world.
That’s enough.
Me:😮
Also Me:😮
Inner Naked Baby:😭
I have been working on Audrey’s story for months.
I mentioned before that I thought it might be autofiction.
Nope. It slid all the way into mythical, mystical slipstream,
with brutal bits woven through.
The story was intended to be braided with myth and fear, hope and time,
memory lapses and loops, and soft humor and fairy tale fugues
to give Audrey time to heal enough to go on.… Continue reading →
I have a story to tell. It was never going to be a memoir. I reserve the right to make shit up.
“Fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth.” – Albert Camus
I briefly flirted with the concept of autofiction. At first, my writing fit that frame. But then my words began to wander off the page like toddlers trailing after a puppy. … Continue reading →
