Author: Peggy Bechko

Peggy Bechko: Why We Like Stories – Ask the Brain

fossils by Peggy Bechko

Have you ever sat back and considered WHY we like stories? Why we like reading books, going to the movies, hearing tall tales? This like is universal in that there isn’t a society on earth that doesn’t share stories. Stories, well told, captivate us, draw us in, hold our attention firmly.

But again, why? Sure everyone thinks, it’s fun, it’s entertainment, it gives us escape from our daily lives. But they don’t play a necessary role in our lives today, I mean stories aren’t key to our survival. Things have changed from the way back, right?

Wrong. read article

Peggy Bechko: Tracking The Wild Writer’s Ideas

FollowYourCuriosity

by Peggy Bechko

Many writers are so brimming with ideas it’s hard to know how to choose one and continue on, spinning that one story when so many other clamor for attention.

Other writers are great at the writing part, but are hard pressed to come up with that first idea; that seed from which to grow the organic story they dream of. read article

Peggy Bechko: In Pursuit of Great Writing

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Honing Your Observation Skills
by Peggy Bechko

Bet you didn’t know you had to be a lifetime student of human behavior in order to be a writer of any ability, did you? Well, you do, so get used to it.

If you’re a writer of any stripe, that’s exactly what you are. Because, if you aren’t, your writing will be stale, boring, and strumming away on one note. Whether you’re a fiction writer, a screenwriter, a journalist, a copywriter or any combination or discipline you must study people. read article

Peggy Bechko: A Few Tips on Editing For Writers

Bechko-Romances

by Peggy Bechko

…Yes, I mean your own work

Editing your own writing can be difficult. There’s a lot to pay attention to and there is frequently the ‘flavor of the week’ in regard to the continually evolving dos and don’ts and ‘forbidden words’. Most of the time I tell folks not to go crazy every time a new trend or a new word to be avoided is announced. read article

Peggy Bechko: Make Them Laugh, Make Them Cry

More great advice from one of the best reasons to visit Santa Fe: (Hey, Peggy lives there, that’s all we’re sayin’.)

horse drawn trolly

by Peggy Bechko

Writing is always a tricky business. It’s the writer’s job to hook the reader without the reader knowing he or she has been hooked. You want the reader to fall in, enjoy the adventure and not be aware of you, the writer, or even the fact they’ve been ‘away’ except for that golden afterglow of reading a truly great story. read article