Articles written by R. M. Ziegler

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About me - R. M. Ziegler

I've been writing for as long as I can remember. I wrote my first "novel" in second grade, a knock off of THE SECRET LANGUAGE. In 5th grade I started a newspaper and created various aliases for each of the columns I wrote. My newspaper lasted only a couple

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Arts & Humanities > Writing Tips Creating a strong plot in your fiction: 1 of 8

What is plot? Plot is the arrangement of incidents and events in a chain of cause and effect that leads to an inevitable climax and satisfactory conclusion. Plot works simultaneously with developing characters who logically shape and by their words and action further the plot. A plot must have a beginning, middle, and ending...
Arts & Humanities > Thoughts on Writing Writing tips for creating a fictional world: 3 of 22

Though not always the dominant element in a story, setting is essential to give your story a sense of place and time. Setting might be a bare bones mention of time like: "It was a dark and stormy night" or it could be the main element as in Stephen Crane's "An Open Boat." Setting accomplishes: visualization, characterization...
Arts & Humanities > Horror, Mystery & Suspense Writers who've mastered the horror/suspense genre: 2 of 11

When someone mentions the genre, horror, it is likely that Shirley Jackson is not the first author to come to mind. In her day she was a masterful author of gothic horror stories. Though she was a prolific author right up until her death, most people only remember her best known short story, "The Lottery." "The Lottery" was ...
Arts & Humanities > Writing Tips Tips for writing horror fiction: 3 of 14

Fear is the main element of successful horror fiction. Fear is what makes Stephen King's books fly off the shelves. Fear is also what motivates writers such as King to pen these stories. King has admitted to being afraid of the dark and of the bats that inhabit his attic. He uses his own fears in his work. Shirley Jackson ("...
Arts & Humanities > American Authors Biography: Ernest Hemingway: 2 of 9

On the morning of July 21st, 1899, Ernest Miller Hemingway was born in a Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois. The life he would live is as fascinating as any of the stories he has created. Perhaps the reason is Hemingway was his characters, and often the line between fact and fiction was blurred. Ernest Hemingway began writ...
Health & Fitness > Pediatrics Chicken pox: The quintessential childhood disease: 3 of 12

Before the varicella vaccine was introduced, chickenpox was one of the most common childhood illnesses afflicting children under the age of twelve. Until 2006 there were four million reported cases a year in the United States. Chickenpox is caused by the varicella zoster virus, which in its latent stage can cause shingles (h...
Arts & Humanities > Writing Tips Creating characters that will make your fiction fly: 5 of 18

You can find characters anywhere you look. They live in your house, in your neighborhood, in newspapers, or anywhere else. The sources are limitless. Sometimes we're blessed with characters who intrude our minds and all we have to do is let our imagination take offor let them. Or we might meet someone on the street or at a r...
Arts & Humanities > Writing Tips Getting over writer's block: 39 of 113

One of the best ways to tackle Writer's Block, is to write anyway. Writer's Block may be caused by the fear of not producing something worthy to fill a blank page, or it means you are stuck. One of the best ways to overcome The Block is freewriting. Freewriting is just what the word suggests. You may use a predetermined topi...
Arts & Humanities > Writing Tips How to critique a short story in an online writing group: 5 of 13

What critiquing is not: Critiquing is not criticism. The purpose of a critique is not to find fault with an author or to judge the merit of someone's work. At first glance it appears there is a fine line between criticism and critiquing. The basic difference is that critiquing is constructive whereas criticism is basic...
Arts & Humanities > American Authors Joyce Carol Oates: A biography: 2 of 4

For more than thirty years Joyce Carol Oates has been a prolific writer and a significant contributor to American fiction. While her work is familiar, not much is known about the personal background of the woman named "the dark lady of American letters." Miss Oates has written about her desire to be invisible, yet her work i...