Last week in my Build-A-Book Workshop, we were discussing developing main characters and a story plot. Previously on this blog, I have discussed plotting in Plan Your Story. That was a bit of “down and dirty” to get ready for NaNoWriMo. Figure out a character goal and several obstacles along the way that your characterContinueContinue reading “When Characters Won’t Act”
Tag Archives: plotting
Plot Your Story
Listen to this blog on Spotify This is the first of four posts I am sharing in the lead up to National Novel Writing Month (aka “NaNoWriMo”). Each Tuesday, I will have another few thoughts to share on how to get the most useful story out of your mad dash toward the pinnacle of 50,000ContinueContinue reading “Plot Your Story”
Creating setting
Listen to this post on Spotify or Anchor An historical story will not use the same words (or even sentence structures) as a contemporary one. And a book with a college-educated protagonist will feel different from a book with a middle school protagonist. Word choices, what’s described about where and when they are, the imageryContinueContinue reading “Creating setting”
Advice for when writers struggle
Writer’s block. Some say it exists. Some say it doesn’t; it’s all in your head. Pointedly, both sides are right. Everything about story writing is in your head. Until it moves to your fingers to the rhythm of a swishing pen, or the clickety-clack of keys on a keyboard. Author Peggy Lantz posted about herContinueContinue reading “Advice for when writers struggle”
Going Serial
Some writers start at the beginning of their writing plans and know that they want to write a series. Others have a vague idea. Still others, however, may not realize they are writing a series until either, they near the end of the draft of the first book, or they get feedback and reviews fromContinueContinue reading “Going Serial”
When to type “The End”
(by the way, it’s not actually good manuscript formatting to type “The End” at the end of your manuscript. Yeah. Really.) Photo by Julia M Cameron on Pexels.com “How do I end my book?” “Is this a good ending?” “Should I use an epilogue?” I’ve heard these in my writing group numerous times. I’ve heardContinueContinue reading “When to type “The End””
more about story goals
When discussing how long a scene should be, I mentioned a concept called a scene goal. The scene goal is a step toward achieving the overall story goal. The story goal is the main character’s goal. It’s a situation or outcome they want and are convinced they need in order to be happy. There canContinueContinue reading “more about story goals”
What’s word (count) go to do with it?
Stacey Carroll has a great post about word counts and where they fit in short stories, novellas, novels, and even the different genres. Go read it. I won’t repeat it here. What I want to talk about is answers to the questions “how many words make a scene?” This question about word counts really shouldContinueContinue reading “What’s word (count) go to do with it?”
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