by MontanaCoauthor | Oct 30, 2019 | Sketchbook, Writing Process Tips
From Anika’s sketchbook: My favorite place in that wooded reserve was along a single-track off the main trail. Just after pedaling across a sturdy plank bridge, I veered right onto the narrow path. The path climbed upward following the stream. Not far into...
by MontanaCoauthor | Oct 21, 2019 | Sketchbook, Writing Process Tips
This weekend’s writing prompt was “Three-Word Sentences.” Simple instructions: Pick a topic. Set a timer for 10 minutes. Write only 3-word sentences. I’ve seen this prompt at numerous writing workshops and always love it. It starts as a warm-up. Anyone can write...
by MontanaCoauthor | Sep 20, 2019 | News
Anika Hanisch, coauthor of Don’t Say Anything to Anybody (2017), spoke to a highly engaged audience at the Big Sky Community Library on Wednesday, September 18th. The World War II memoir, which explores the childhood wartime experience of Brigitte Yearman, was the...
by MontanaCoauthor | Aug 19, 2019 | News
Earlier this summer Kathy House, the Big Sky Community Library Director, contacted Anika Hanisch to let her know that “Don’t Say Anything to Anybody” (DSATA) was chosen as the “One Book Big Sky” selection for Summer 2019. Hanisch...
by MontanaCoauthor | Aug 8, 2019 | Sketchbook, Writing Process Tips
I write like I garden. The creative processes are virtually identical in my mind. This Summer Series reflects on the ties between these two worlds. Weeding is more serious than thinning. True weeds are opportunistic organisms that can steal and choke out the crops...
by MontanaCoauthor | Jul 19, 2019 | Sketchbook, Writing Process Tips
I write like I garden. The creative processes are virtually identical in my mind. This Summer Series reflects on the ties between these two worlds. I’m almost done installing a new garden bed. At that almost-done stage, I’m notorious for fizzling out. I have no...
by MontanaCoauthor | Jun 7, 2019 | Sketchbook, Writing Process Tips
I write like I garden. The creative processes are virtually identical in my mind. This Summer Series reflects on the ties between these two worlds. From April through early June, I am surrounded by new young plants. Sprouts emerge in starter pots in my living room...
by MontanaCoauthor | May 10, 2019 | Writing Process Tips
In our daily interactions, most of us strive for dialogue that feels successful. We want clear communication between loved ones and among workmates. We want to ask clear questions and feel like the Other gives us definitive and useful answers. When critique is...
by MontanaCoauthor | Apr 19, 2019 | Writing Process Tips
Last month, we touched on the concern that “introducing complication” into your manuscript might come across as a predictable literary device to fix flat writing. Let’s wrestle a little more with that concern. The attraction of complication is deeply...
by MontanaCoauthor | Mar 15, 2019 | Writing Process Tips
One writes initially to express. But the great hope is that the story will connect with a reader—hopefully many readers who cannot put your book down. So, what do you do if initial beta readers tell you that the draft feels slow? Or the characters are a...
