In terms of literary taste, the best advice about writing is this: write what you’d normally read, or watch on TV or in theaters.
Much of my poetry can be described as “dark, with some snark” (yes, I just made that up). That stems from my literary and media tastes, which lean toward dark humor and fantasy. My favorite writers are Edgar Allan Poe, Dorothy Parker (a woman well renowned for her caustic wit) and Emily Bronte (Charlotte’s sister). Some of my favorite novels are Wuthering Heights (by Bronte), Animal Farm and Frankenstein. A few of my favorite movies are The Sound of Music, The Wizard of Oz, Heathers (one of Winona Ryder’s earliest films) and Sunset Boulevard.
It’s okay to have eclectic literary and media tastes. As a matter of fact, I encourage it. Even though I often like it dark and bitter, I also like old movie musicals, Disney films, spiritual self-help books and the occasional chick lit. An open-minded exposure to different genres not only enables you to understand different writing styles and ways of storytelling, but also fosters your creativity. Your mind will come up with a series of “What if?” scenarios when you cross genres.
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Published by Teresa Edmond-Sargeant
Teresa Edmond-Sargeant has been writing poetry since nine years old, and writing newspaper articles since 16. She graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s degree in communications from Fairleigh Dickinson University, where she was an editor, writer and photographer for the campus newspaper. She also penned a college thesis that explored the impact of print journalism scandals on the media’s reputation.
Teresa was a newspaper freelancer and an editorial assistant for publishing houses and newspapers before becoming a staff writer for a North Jersey newspaper, The Suburban Trends. For her work there, she won Second Place in the Interpretive Writing Category in the New Jersey Press Association 2009 Better Newspaper Contest.
In 2006, Teresa published her debut book of poetry “How Fate's Confusion Connects" with Wheatmark Inc. She continues to publish poetry and appear at local poetry venues.
In January 2012, Teresa launched her publishing imprint Heathermoors Books, through which she’ll release her own novels, starting with Warding Off Reality in 2012.
When Teresa wants to wind down from writing, she reads (a lot!), goofs around with her 10-year-old daughter and executes mad roundhouse kicks in tae kwon do class.
View all posts by Teresa Edmond-Sargeant
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