Author Archives: Lisa Torcasso Downing

On Writing the Mormon Sacred

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Lisa Torcasso Downing

Our culture is only as deep, or profound, as our art, and it may well be that our art only becomes these things as our artists isolate what is sacred to the human soul and elevate it for our examination. … Continue reading →

Posted in Community Voices, The Writer's Desk | Tagged , , | 17 Comments

5 Techniques to Improve your Literary Short Fiction

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Lisa Torcasso Downing

Let’s talk craft today. The nitty gritty details of craft. The stuff that leaves our hands dirty from the effort. I know we have an awful lot of writers who read this blog. Revise: I know we have an abundance … Continue reading →

Posted in Storytelling and Community, The Writer's Desk, Thoughts on Language | 7 Comments

The Horror, The Horror

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Lisa Torcasso Downing

I love Halloween. I love scarey things. I love scaring kids. I’ve spent the last several weeks producing lifesize zombies out of pvc pipe and styrofoam wig heads. They are glorious because, with even a slight breeze, they turn and … Continue reading →

Posted in Horror Shelf | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Eli and the Morning Monster

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Lisa Torcasso Downing

This is Eli. Do not be fooled by his clean-cut appearance. He is five years old. He is my nephew. His favorite toy is his mouth and he runs with it nearly non-stop. Unless, of course, it is 7 am and … Continue reading →

Posted in Community Voices, The Writer's Desk | Tagged , , | 16 Comments

Attila the Hun, Sunday School, and Sunstone

Posted on August 22, 2011 by Lisa Torcasso Downing

Last Sunday in Gospel Doctrine, the teacher read several quotations about leadership and forced us to guess from whence they came. The statements were things like, “[Leaders] must understand that the spirit of the law is greater than its letter,” … Continue reading →

Posted in Community Voices, The Writer's Desk | Tagged , , , , | 29 Comments

ABNA Contest “Wins” Contract for LDS Author

Posted on July 26, 2011 by Lisa Torcasso Downing

The best thing to happen to recent University of Memphis MFA graduate Courtney Miller Santo was her failure to win the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest. Santo, whose first published short story appeared in the Spring/Summer 2011 edition of Irreantum, learned … Continue reading →

Posted in Announcements, The Writer's Desk | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments

Sweet Clara and My Own

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Lisa Torcasso Downing

During a visit to the local library back when my daughter was four years old, I checked out several picture books, but the one I was most interested in reading with her was Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt. For … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's Lit corner, Storytelling and Community, The Writer's Desk | Tagged , , , | 15 Comments

Confession of a Meanie

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Lisa Torcasso Downing

I strayed this week. After years of temptation, I drove 50 miles out of town to meet with writers in a workshop group of which I am not a member. My own writing group is small, sometimes redundant, and some … Continue reading →

Posted in Storytelling and Community, The Writer's Desk | 30 Comments

What Does a “Good” Writer Write?

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Lisa Torcasso Downing

Back when she was Carol Lynch and I was Lisa Torcasso, before married names reversed our alphabetical order, making her a Williams and bumping her to the rear of the alphabet while I, as a new Downing,  leaped forward, we … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal Narratives, The Writer's Desk | 14 Comments

A Simple Pleasure

Posted on March 22, 2011 by Lisa Torcasso Downing

Sure, there’s a new war in Libya. And yes, I know Japan is radiating, and not in the good way. The value of my home has dropped 20% in the past couple years. But overnight, here in Texas, the bluebonnets … Continue reading →

Posted in Community Voices, The Writer's Desk | Tagged , , | 16 Comments