Tag Archives: American Novelist

“……and the truth is not always cruel”

  A Beautiful Reminder of Christmas! Thank you, Leonard! by Leonard Bishop My son, Luke, asked me, “Dad, is there a Santa Claus?”  I sat fixed in a painful decision. Five-year-old children must have a sense of fantasy and fable. … Continue reading

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One Novel In The Life of a Writer’s Desk

by Leonard Bishop About 20 years ago, Boston University approached me with an offer to establish a  “Leonard Bishop collection.” It would be placed among the other writers, artists, stage and screen  performers  they considered distinguished enough to be exhibited. … Continue reading

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“Open Your Life,” He Says, “It Can’t Hurt You.”

by Leonard Bishop When I was 50 years old I began feeling happy, and this immediately upset me. I could handle sorrow, depression, morbidity, anger–but happiness was a shock of confusion. It wasn’t “me.” If I wasn’t brooding, I didn’t … Continue reading

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How Can He Keep Her Down On The Farm?

by Leonard Bishop, Author of Dare To Be A Great Writer All writing is either a protest or a confession. What I write in this space, is both. My wife and I can no longer speak freely or forthrightly to … Continue reading

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Writers, Farmers: Two of a Kind

  By Leonard Bishop      I see the splendor of wheat fields sprawled throughout Kansas and I am stunned with wonder. I drive along the flat roads between cities and the green crops flow like an ocean beginning to fill … Continue reading

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You Can’t Always Get What You Want

By Leonard Bishop       Have I been cursed by moving to Kansas –or blessed? Last year I had decided to stop writing “artistic” novels that penetrate the core of life and peel naked the soul; I wanted to … Continue reading

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Writing Hint: Use Adventure!

From Leonard Bishop, Author of Dare To Be A Great Writer To keep a novel alive, use adventure.  Have a highly credible character that performs highly incredible things.  (8/26/98)

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When You Know You’ve Finally Made It

 By Leonard Bishop, Author of Dare To Be A Great Writer       I dislike “name droppers” unless it’s my name they’re dropping.  Early in my career as a writer I achieved that status. Everyone, in any profession, wants his/her name … Continue reading

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Writer’s Hint: Keeping the Readers Interested

From Leonard Bishop, Author of Dare To Be a Great Writer A reader’s interest is captured by what you tell them, not by what you promise to tell them.  (11/5/98)

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Need A Plot? Experts Recycle Them

By Leonard Bishop, Author of Dare To Be A Great Writer       There are three reference books that all unpublished (and many already published) writers must own: One Hundred Non-Royalty One-Act Plays (Grosset and Dunlap), 101 of the World’s Greatest … Continue reading

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