Denise E Lindquist
Bio
I am married with 7 children, 28 grands, and 13 great-grandchildren. I am a culture consultant part-time. I write A Poem a Day in February for 8 years now. I wrote 4 - 50,000 word stories in NaNoWriMo. I write on Vocal/Medium daily.
Stories (1229)
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Lost And Found
Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter — What if? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers prompts — The Exercise: Work with one of your completed stories that has a character who needs fleshing out. Take out a sheet of paper and number from one to thirty-four. At the top of the page, write in the title of your story and the main character's name — and start filling in the blanks. No doubt you will be able to add to this list printed below. Note: This exercise should be done after you have written your story. It is not a way to conceive a character, but rather a way to reconceive a character. It is designed to discover what you know about your characters after you have written your story — and what you don’t know. For example, one writer, Samuel R. Delany, tells his students to know exactly how much money their characters make and how they make it. And why not apply this list to some of your favorite stories? Note how much is know about the unforgettable grandmother in Flannery O’Connor’s story “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” or about the compelling narrator in Peter Taylor’s story, “The Old Forest.” The Objective: To understand how much there is to know about a character that you have created. Of course, it is possible to write a successful story about a character without knowing everything on this list — or perhaps only knowing two or three things. On the other hand, beginning writers often don’t know more than a character’s age or gender — and frequently neglect an essential piece of information that would have greatly informed or shaped their story. You needn’t include these details in the story, but their presence in your mind will be “felt” by the reader.
By Denise E Lindquist5 months ago in Fiction
Ancestry Continues...
My first ancestry stated that I am 55% Native American. I am not that much on the rolls of my reservation. I am enrolled as White Earth, removal Fond du Lac. That means I have a lot of relatives in White Earth and a lot of relatives in Fond du Lac.
By Denise E Lindquist5 months ago in Families
A Large Sale This Weekend
For a month now I have known about a yard sale on Hwy 38. All the neighbors along this road have items out for sale. A wide variety of items. I have shopped there before. The best chance of not overspending is when I have my mind made up about what I am looking for and stick to that list.
By Denise E Lindquist5 months ago in Poets
September 14, 2025. Top Story - September 2025.
The word for today is Perpetuity, and some may call this timeless (Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day Calendar, with other definitions) Perpetuity (noun) the state or quality of lasting forever, or a very long time: a bond or other security with no fixed maturity date. a restriction making an interest in land inalienable perpetually or for a period beyond certain limits fixed by law. Timeless (adjective) not affected by the passage of time or changes in fashion: “Antiques add to the timeless atmosphere of the dining room.”
By Denise E Lindquist5 months ago in Poets
Suggesting An Approximate Age
Author's Note: My life today and early life, or non-fiction, are mostly what I write now. I also started writing poetry while writing rap for a grandchild who thought that, because I wrote, I might be able to write him a few rap songs. He came back with I didn’t rhyme enough.
By Denise E Lindquist5 months ago in Writers
A Fiction Character, I Already Wrote About
Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter — What if? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers prompts - My life today and early life or non-fiction are mostly what I write now. I also started writing poetry while writing rap for a grandchild who thought because I wrote, I may be able to write him a few rap songs. He came back with I didn't rhyme enough. Now I can rhyme. Poetry came from that. This is what I started with. Fiction is difficult for me I want to write rap to be a rapping granny you see to write about a way we can see that life and maybe some other fun fiction hehe The Exercise: First work with a story that you've already written, one whose characters need fleshing out. Write the character's name at the top of the page. Then fill in this sentence five or ten times: He (or she) is the sort of person who ___________________, For example: Meyer Wolfsheim is the sort of person who boasts of wearing human molars for cuff links. Then determine which details add flash and blood and heart to your characters. After you have selected the "telling" detail, work it into your story more felicitously than merely saying, "She is the sort of person who..." Put it in dialogue or weave it into narrative summary. But use it. The Objective: To learn to select revealing concrete details, details that often tell us more than the character would want us to know.
By Denise E Lindquist5 months ago in Writers
Naming Fiction Characters
Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter — What if? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers prompts — The Exercise: Name the following characters, keeping in mind that you can plant, within a name, a clue to their role in your fiction. * A petty, white-collar thief who robs his boss over several years. * An envious, bitter woman who makes her sister miserable by systematically trying to undercut her pleasure and self-confidence. * A sweet young man too shy to speak to an attractive woman he sees every day at work. * The owner of a fast-food restaurant who comes on to his young female employees. * A grandmother who just won the lottery. The Objective: To recognize that the names you give your characters should not be drawn out of a hat but carefully tested to see if they "work". Sometimes you may want to choose an "appropriate" name (Victoria for a member of the British aristocracy) and once in a while it's a good idea to choose a name that seems "inappropriate" (Bruce for the child of migrant farm workers). In each case, you are sending a message to the reader about who the character is, where he came from and where he is headed. A name can send a message as powerful as a title.
By Denise E Lindquist5 months ago in Writers
