Today at The Blood-Red Pencil, I share my recent experience baring my soul before a Los Angeles audience without a book, notes, or any written material in hand. I thought author readings were nerve-wracking, but those are nothing compared to a StorySlam and Stage...
by Cara Lopez Lee
When Do You Fire A Protagonist?
It happens to writers sometimes, but I never thought it would happen to me. No matter how much we love them, no matter how hard they work for us, no matter how sure we are that they cannot be replaced: sometimes we have to fire our protagonists. Today at The Blood-Red...
An Ambivert Walks Into A Writing Conference…
Today at The Blood-Red Pencil, I consider how both introverted and extroverted writers deal with the ecstasy and the agony of writing conferences. Whether you're a writer or a reader, or just an introvert or an extrovert, I believe you'll relate to my post: An...
First-World Problems and Refugees
By Cara Lopez Lee This entire week, my husband and I have been awaiting word on our mortgage loan documents, hoping our lender draws them up soon so we can close on a new house. On Monday, nobody was answering our calls and we grew anxious. For the past three days...
An Open Letter To Lighthouse Writers Workshop – Cara’s Guest Post at a Top-Secret Blog
For those of you I don't run into regularly, online or in person, I have news: after nearly 16 years in Colorado, and nearly 30 years away from California, I'm returning to my home state. It will still be a new home for me, because this time I won't be living in Los...
The Writer and the Secret Fan – Cara’s Post at the Blood-Red Pencil
Today at The Blood-Red Pencil, I look at storytelling as the opening of a fan. Check out The Writer and the Secret Fan, here.
Crowdfunding a Guest Author Program for Kids
Today, you have an opportunity to contribute to a great educational program and win a signed copy of my memoir, They Only Eat Their Husbands. The Guest Author Program at Jefferson County Open School invites working authors from the Colorado community to teach...
What I’ve Learned from a World-Class Novelist – Cara’s Guest Post at The Blood-Red Pencil
I recently had a chance to hear world-class novelist Kazuo Ishiguro speak on the craft of writing at a Lighthouse Writers Workshop event. If you would like to be inspired, check out what I took away from his words in my post today at The Blood-Red Pencil.
Literature in a Razor-Wired Country – Cara’s Guest Post at Words Beyond Bars
You don't have to travel far to discover other worlds within our world. I met former librarian Karen Levi-Lausa when she coordinated my book party at Denver's Bookbar, and we got to talking about her program that brings books to prisoners, Words Beyond Bars....
Feedback with Compassionate Detachment – Cara’s Guest Post at The Blood-Red Pencil
Whether or not you're a writer, I hope you'll find some useful insights in my guest post today over at The Blood-Red Pencil. Today I share a few favorite tips about giving fellow writers Feedback with Compassionate Detachment. We all give and receive feedback at one...