Halfway to the finish line of NaNoWriMo. To date, I have written over 35,000 words. I’ve been pretty good at keeping up with my 2,000-word/hour pace. I needed to get down that many words per writing session because my weekends are unpredictable. I never really know if I’ll have uninterrupted … READ MORE
How’s everyone doing so far? Week one is usually the most energetic week of NaNoWriMo. Writers are still riding high on the idea of pummeling their notebooks or computer screens with word after word. We’re not really tired yet, and we probably haven’t yet reached a point where we’ve gotten … READ MORE
Today is lift-off for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). If you don’t know what the heck I’m talking about, and you are a writer, check out the info here. The idea of writing 50,000 words in 30 days can be a bit harrowing. Many writers won’t attempt the feat, while … READ MORE
Character development is one of the most important big picture elements writers need to focus on when they begin a novel. Both internal and external development boil down to a character’s strengths and weaknesses. The terms “character strengths,” “character weaknesses,” and “character flaws” are often used to describe internal and … READ MORE
Your protagonist (or any POV character, for that matter) needs to have a story goal. This is above and beyond an urge or desire or hope. A story goal is concrete, and it requires steps that will lead the character into the story’s conflict. Your character may be dissatisfied with … READ MORE
Point of view (POV) is a course in itself. Seriously. There are so many facets to think about with point of view – and many of them must be decided before you even begin to write your book. Telling your story from the WRONG POV is very easy to do. … READ MORE
A scene is a unit of storytelling. It incorporates all major elements: action, character, setting, inner story, voice, narrative thrust. If your opening scene is lacking or weak in any of those elements, then your story is in danger of being uninteresting, passive, slow. It just doesn’t grab the reader. … READ MORE
Narrative thrust is what drives the reader to keep reading. If your story is weak in this area, then readers won’t be interested enough to stay with the story. Narrative thrust involves all the elements of storytelling: action, setting, voice, theme, description, conflict, dialogue, character, point of view. Measure out … READ MORE
I grew up in a somewhat idyllic, magical setting—by my standards. When I was about two years old, my parents bought a gorgeous three-story Federal-style brick house with an attached barn. The property included a sprawling wildflower meadow, a fruit orchard, woods, and a pond large enough for kayaking and … READ MORE
Since I was a child, I had a wild, unexplained yearning to create stories with imaginary people and animals. In fact, when I wrote a story about a good wolf (think I was seven or eight years old), I felt like I had a superpower. I’d just created a story … READ MORE