First novel, Earth, to Launch February 19, 2015

My first novel, Earth, is being published by Seattle’s Booktrope, and the official launch is this Thursday, Feb. 19th. Join our mailing list on my website, carolineallen.com, and be entered to win a couple of fun promo prizes. I’m a visual artist and metaphysical coach (besides being a fiction writer) and you could win a […]

The Ecology of Hierarchical Thinking

Watercolor landscape, http://www.carolineallen.com A month ago, a friend gave me a packet of lettuce seeds and I sprinkled them in the garden. I was just admiring the tiny lettuce leaves springing up and for some reason turned to thoughts of hierarchical thinking. In a hierarchy, the seedlings might well be seen as less than the […]

Enter to win an original watercolor!

We’re holding a raffle to attract people to my new Caroline Alllen, Author Facebook fan page. Earth, my first novel will be published in February 2015! Click this link below, and Rafflecopter will guide  you through the process of liking my page, and following me on Twitter, and you’ll be entered to win this 9×12 […]

Everyone Knows The Alphabet: Thoughts on Screenwriting

Former NYC agent and current AofS coach Jon Sternfeld discusses screenwriting in Art of Storytelling’s ongoing series of guest blogs on the writing process. Jon has worked under the VP of Development at a major independent production company, Good Machine Inc. (The Ice Storm, In the Bedroom, Happiness) under writer/producer James Schamus. In charge of […]

Getting Published: The Query

In Art of Storytelling’s ongoing series of essays on the writing process, former New York literary agent and current writer and AofS coach Jon Sternfeld weighs in on the query letter. Jon’s insider knowledge of how to approach an agent is invaluable to any writer who wants to get published. (Be sure to watch for […]

5 Tips for Writing Fiction

Angel at Kerepesi Cemetery in Budapest, Hungary, http://www.carolineallen.com It’s more difficult to sum up writing fiction than it is writing memoir. Fiction can be too amorphous, too soulful, to be forced into linear alignment. However, there are a few guidelines you can follow for writing good fiction. 1. Start with character. Spend time really getting […]

Owning the ugly

Wheel of Fortune, acrylic on canvas, 20″ x 20″, http://www.carolineallen.com. In July of this year, I underwent surgery for a total thyroidectomy. It wasn’t cancer, just a thyroid that was profoundly overactive, speeding up my metabolism so fast that I went down four sizes in less than three months. Luckily, I enjoy Romney-care in Massachusetts, […]

Writing a novel, from geisha to herbalist

I stood at the second story window, looking out, waiting for him. It was so cold. There was no way to heat yourself this late at night. The house was made of wood and rice paper, with gaps between the slats in the walls. The freezing air hit me through the cracks. I pulled the […]

How to write: When beautiful isn’t beautiful

Seattle healer Ellen Newhouse (www.ellennewhouse.com) and I were working on a chapter of her memoir called Loner. She was describing how she liked to church hop when she was just a young girl. She was Jewish and adored Temple, but also went with friends to Catholic Mass, even took a catechism class. She was writing […]

How to write: The Power of Shadows

Brother and Sister, acrylic on canvas, 30×26″, http://www.carolineallen.com I’ve been working for the past two days in my studio on the above painting. I still have a lot to learn about visual art. Where you place the shadows can make or break a painting. You can have a moody powerful piece or a face that […]