If I were stranded on a deserted island with a notepad, forced to finish my trilogy and could only have three resources it would be these.
Revising is hard work. There are a million books out there on how to do it, hundreds of pieces of advice friends and family will offer you, and a growing set checklist of your own things to complete.
How do you balance it all? Continue reading
Writing fantasy is fun. Why else would so many people do it? Why would so many read it? There’s more than a monetary investment when a reader picks up a fantasy novel. They are taking on faith that the world the writer has created is going to engage them and spark their imagination. As an author, you have to think through more than loving your own world and story – it has to be easily comprehended by a reader so that they don’t get fed up and abandon the attempt to enter into your written world.
Congratulations! You have made it to the end of November. And if you’re in certain parts of the globe, you’ve already arrived in December.
I don’t know about you, but between writing like crazy this month, and getting caught up in the flurry of the holiday season, I’m already exhausted. Happy, but exhausted. Honestly, I can barely function after pulling a crazy marathon writing day yesterday in order to finish NaNoWriMo, so I’ll keep this short. 🙂
Where are you in your writing journey? Are you NaNoing? Writing? Querying? On sub to publishers? In the midst of revisions? Taking time to read and improve your craft? Nurturing the seed of an amazing idea that’s taking root in your imagination?
Whichever of those things you are doing, or if you’re in a completely different place all together, I would like to take a minute to talk about something a lot of people would rather avoid.
FAILURE.
No one likes to experience it, and a lot of us hold back on our dreams to shelter ourselves. But you know what? I’m a huge advocate for failing. I say let’s fail. Let’s fail BIG TIME.
Let me tell you a quick story. Continue reading
What is the one thing I struggle with most when I sit down to write for Nano? A messy room? My to-do list? The cries of unfed pets? No! It’s how much my back hurts when I sit down, no matter where I park my butt.
After hours sitting at work (or if you’re fortunate enough to have November totally open to write), how do you relieve the aches and pains of crouching over a keyboard for hours?
Pen Friends–
Today is the day when I planned to give you a really practical middle-of-NaNoWriMo pep talk, full of tips on how to push through to the end (whether you’re aiming for 50,000 words this month, or doing something else entirely).
I was talking to a friend a couple weeks ago about writing. One of the first things she said is that she had been planning on writing a book for some time but hadn’t. When I asked her why, her answer was “I just don’t know where to start.”
In today’s post, I’ll be sharing some tips on how to take those first steps.
You can never stop being a writer.
You can stop writing, but there is a part of your brain that never sleeps, never stops observing, never stops scribing.
This is an unconscious process for many of us, but to write novels that clutch people’s hearts, we must tap into that thought process. Today, I’m going to give you four lenses you can use to observe the world and enrich your writing. So let’s get started!
If you are pursuing a career in writing, there are skills that NaNoWriMo and other contests like Pitch Wars can give you that will be invaluable, and from which you will reap benefits throughout your whole writing career.
Since it’s Halloween today–and NaNoWriMo starts at midnight, I thought it would be a great day for a treat along with a writing tip. Read on to join in on our First Lines Game and have the chance to win a sweet treat!
The Spinning Pen 