There’s a quote from Shakespeare in Love (wonderful movie, with a terrific script from Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard, and Geoffrey Rush stealing scenes as usual, and as Philip Henslowe, Rush h…| Shannon Donnelly's Fresh Ink
1 post published by SD Writer during August 2025| Shannon Donnelly's Fresh Ink
Recently I read a book where the flow of the story was chopped off in the jump from chapter one to chapter two. I’ve also read books where the flow was interrupted from one sentence to the next, or…| Shannon Donnelly's Fresh Ink
1 post published by SD Writer during July 2025| Shannon Donnelly's Fresh Ink
I’ve been reading some contest entries of late, and one thing that struck me is that I don’t see the point of the story emerging right away to hook me into the story. Theme is the point…| Shannon Donnelly's Fresh Ink
1 post published by SD Writer during June 2025| Shannon Donnelly's Fresh Ink
I’ve just finished up the Regency Food and Seasons workshop for Regency Fiction Writers, and there’s always some ephemera that doesn’t quite make it into the workshop. This one is…| Shannon Donnelly's Fresh Ink
There’s always a big question with any writing—what do you put in and what do you leave out? This is not just confined to scenes and characters, but also to information, particularly to research to…| Shannon Donnelly's Fresh Ink
By 1815 the Palais-Royal was already known for being the place to go in Paris not just for a meal, but for gambling, and to indulge in every other vice. John Scott wrote of his visit to the Palais-…| Shannon Donnelly's Fresh Ink
Cooking is one of my favorite pastimes—eating and learning about good food is a pleasure. This means it was not difficult to dive into the research needed for a restaurant in Paris of 1815 for the …| Shannon Donnelly's Fresh Ink
Some stories just take more time—and this one took ages! Part of this is due to the research needed for Paris in 1815. Part is just due to Jules being a reticent character who took a bit of coaxing…| Shannon Donnelly's Fresh Ink
Every now and then I find a word that sends me off on a research hunt, and this led me to drink names. While we think of “cocktails” as a modern invention, the word dates back to at least 1798.| Shannon Donnelly's Fresh Ink
I’m giving a talk via Zoom for Orange County Romance Writers on November 9 on Pacing Tips and that has had me thinking about story pacing, and what I see so very often in writing contests. It…| Shannon Donnelly's Fresh Ink
