Nail Your NaNoWriMo #6: Filling Out the Big Picture
31 Posts in 31 Days to Help you Kick NaNoWriMo’s Ass All this talk about your idea… let’s expand on that. The overwhelming odds are that your original “idea” — the very first glimmer of a spark for a story, originated as something less than a story element, or it if was a legit story […]
Nail Your NaNoWriMo #5: Don’t Forget to Fall In Love
31 Posts in 31 Days to Prep You For NaNoWriMo About that “idea” for your novel. There are ideas… and then there are Ideas. The latter being significant concepts, fantasies, landscapes, arenas, themes and even semi-developed stories you are saving for a real effort at writing a novel. Well, it doesn’t get any more real […]
Nail Your NaNoWriMo #4: Tell Your Story in Context to… ‘Something’
What happens on the first day of football practice? You get a Playbook. Everything that happens from that point forward is in context to its contents and intentions. What happens on the first day of class, besides nausea? You get a syllabus. With the same forward-looking intentions. What happens when you write a novel that is […]
Nail Your NaNoWriMo #3: Vet and Fertilize Your Story “Idea”
31 Empowering Posts in 31 Days Don’t just start something. Develop something first, so you can start something worthwhile in November… and finish it. There are two ways to immerse yourself in NaNoWriMo. One is to arrive at November 1 with either no idea what will happen after Page 1… or only a vague idea. […]
Nail Your NaNoWrMo #2 – Keep Your Character Close to Home
I hate to admit it, but NaNoWrMo is different than the normal, reasonable experience of writing a novel. Time is of the essence. Normally this could easily compromise one of the core competencies (of the six, in case you’re new here) that will, at some point, need to be sparkling and compelling in your story. […]
Nail Your NaNoWrMo (#1)
31 Empowering Posts in 31 Days Don’t just start something. Develop something first, so you can start something worthwhile in November… and finish it. Finishing isn’t the highest goal. It shouldn’t your only goal. If you finish, you haven’t “won” anything. But you can “win.” By writing a novel in November that’s actually something that […]
Epiphany: The Bottom Line, Revealed
Sometimes it feels like I’ve been in a street fight for the last 30 months. Pantsers vs. Planners. Jets vs. Sharks. Right vs. left. Good vs. Evil. You would not believe — I’ve only shared a sliver of it — the vitriolic venom sent my way when I’ve suggested that there exists an underlying, matrix-like […]
A Free Sample Chapter From Victoria Mixon’s new book, “The Art and Craft of Story: 2nd Practicioner’s Manual”
New Peer Review Submission from Evonne M. Biggins: “The Perfect Shade of Gray” (YA). Please honor her with your feedback. ****** Back last winter, when Larry and I were both voted Top 10 Blogs for Writers, we traded guest posts—his Self-Editing at the Story Level on my site A. Victoria Mixon, Editor, and my The […]
Why My Workshops are “Slightly Disturbing”
Sometimes the universe backhands us into paying attention. When it doesn’t dislocate a jaw, that’s a good thing. More than most, writers need to pay attention to stuff like this. Especially when you recognize truth in the sting. This morning a valued reader asked me if I was okay. He noticed that my “voice” was […]
Storyfixing… Explained
Check out the new Peer Review submission from Lake Lopez, the first 5000 words of his novel, “Sinister.” Who could resist that title? Please check it out and gift him with your feedback. If you’d like to post your own work on the Storyfix Peer Review Page, and then stand naked in the harsh light of […]