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Jan 22

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Overcome writer’s block and generate new ideas with tarot or picture cards

Ever find yourself happily writing along and then, suddenly, you’re stumped on what should come next?  When I start a scene, I usually have a general idea of the direction I’m going and how it will end. But occasionally, my characters take me in a new direction or the ending I had in mind feels insufficient.

This happened to me recently. An ending to a new chapter left me feeling uninspired. And, worse, I couldn’t think of a better ending. Every idea I thought of felt forced.

In my writing room is a set of Tarot cards. I don’t know how to read the tarot, but I purchased them because of their beautiful pictures. Plus, I’d heard another writer say that she used them when she needed inspiration in her writing. At the time, I thought it was pretty silly—am I really going to incorporate a Price of Cups or Queen of Wands into a story? Read more

Jan 21

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Inaugural poet Richard Blanco speaks about his writing process

Poet Richard Blanco, chosen to recite a poem written for today’s second inauguration of President Barack Obama, views writing as a discovery process.

Poets should not take up a pen to write if he or she is completely sure of what the poem is about. In an interview at poets.org, Blanco said, “I’ve learned to recognize that when I sit down to write a poem, I have something to figure out, and I have to do it on the page. And I hope that my inaugural poem will do that, in some ways, for the nation. That it will work towards making sense of—all the din of the day—all that we hear in the news.”

All writing is to some degree an act of discovery. What do you have to discover in your writing?

To learn more about Blanco and his approach to poetry, read the full interview. You’ll also find links to several of his poems. Read more

Jan 18

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Three posts to help you plot a novel

As I work on plotting my current novel, I like to investigate what other authors are doing. By reading about their process, I learn tips to incorporate in my own process.

“How I Plot a Novel in Five Steps” by Rachel Aaron explains her process of plotting a novel. I like what she writes about timelines:

“Make a timeline. I didn’t have timelines for the first four Eli novels and OMG did it bite me in the ass. Lesson finally learned, I now make timelines not just for the events of the novel itself, but the history before it as well. I especially make sure to note relative ages and how long everyone’s known everyone else.”

“How to Create a Plot Outline in Three Easy Steps,” by Glen C. Strathy.  To write a story that others will want to read we have to raise the stakes for our protagonist. Low stakes equals low interest. Strathy calls this, “The Cost.” Read more

Jan 17

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Recommended reading from my pal Kurt and The New York Times

I used to commute with a friend who is an avid reader like me. Several other people who rode our bus also loved to read. So when we weren’t reading, we were often talking about what we were reading or planned to read next.

Kurt and I no longer commute together but we exchange periodic e-mails to share recommendations from our reading list.

If you’re looking for a good book to read, you might enjoy several selections from our recent and not-so-recent favorites list.

And since I’m such a fan of books and book lists, I’m including a link to The New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2012.

Books recommendations from me and my pal Kurt:

The Book Thiefby Markus Zusak — written for ages 9 and up, but adults will appreciate this book. It’s a moving story about how books feed us. The story takes place in Germany during World War II. One of the most striking elements of the book is the narrator, which turns out to be Death. Read more

Jan 16

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Enrich your characters’ and readers’ emotional experience with these cues

Readers pick up a book to have an emotional experience. They want to connect with characters on an emotional level that will eventually, by the end of the story, enrich their own lives. (Tweet this). 

Readers don’t want to be told how a character feels. They want to experience the emotion themselves. Dialogue is one way to convey or show character emotion, but much of a character’s emotion is nonverbal.

In The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide To Character Expression, by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi, the authors break down nonverbal communication into three elements: physical signals (body language and actions), internal sensations (visceral reactions) and mental responses (thoughts).

In their book, the authors list over seventy emotions, such as anger, depression, doubt, excitement, happiness, loneliness, relief, and sadness, and offer suggestions on how these emotions can be shown through the three elements above. Read more

Jan 15

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What one writer has learned so far about her 2013 daily writing challenge

Are you on a quest to write every day? No matter what your goal, writing or otherwise, periodic check-ins can help ensure you stay on track and maintain enthusiasm for your projects.

Blogger Amanda Martin committed to write daily in 2013. For her daily challenge, Martin is writing posts that cover how her writing ideas develop and how she approaches research. The second part of each post is a new section of her work in progress, a novel. In this post, you’ll find more background about her project.

In Martin’s January 11 post, she shares the side effects of her daily practice.

It’s never too late to start a daily writing routine. Try these tips. (Tweet them)

1. Establish a regular writing time. Morning, noon, or night, you have to figure out what works for your life. I like mornings because I can get some work done before anything else interrupts my schedule. Plus, I have the sentences buzzing in my brain the rest of the day. Nights can be perfect for others because the house is finally quiet. And there’s something to be said for “sleeping on your story.” When I write before bed, I often have an epiphany the moment I lay my head down. Bonus. Read more

Jan 14

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How to plot a novel: recommended resources

In my last post, “Plotting a story is like solving a puzzle,” I mentioned that I read several books to help me demystify that four-letter word “plot.”

Below are resources and books I highly recommend adding to your craft collection or checking out at the library:

Blockbuster Plots: Pure & Simple by Martha Alderson. She has another book called The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master, which is also very helpful, but Blockbuster Plots really does a great job of breaking it all down. Learn about structure, scenes, character development and everything a good story needs.

I love Alderson’s youtube channel because it’s full of fantastic short clips about the craft of writing and plotting that I play in the background when I’m cooking, doing dishes, or when I need a short break. Read more

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