Oct 31
Just in time for the NaNoWriMo kickoff Nov. 1, I found a series of articles on The Guardian online outlining a six-stage plan for writing a book in 30 days. The series is part of a 32-page supplement delivered free to Guardian readers in its Oct. 20 edition.
The 30-day plan includes handy worksheets and details about:
I’ve just signed up for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) to help me write my next novel. One of my personal weaknesses as a writer is that I think too much in my first drafts when I should just be writing. So I’m using this NaNoWriMo to help me make a breakthrough.
Even if you’re not participating in NaNoWriMo, the seven tips below can help you finish any project:
Tip # 1: Write from the heart. There will be times when you’ll get stuck. Some days, your prose will sound like garbled hamster hash. When this happens, stop and take a few deep breaths. Remind yourself what you love about your project. I have an index card on my desk with my original idea for the story—it’s the tag line that got my juices going in the first place. Then go back to your page and write from that space of passion. Read more
What’s more important: A good story or good writing?
My cousin asked me this question recently as I was giving him tips to build out a series of travel essays he’d been working on.
I want to be able to say that both are equally important, but I think a good story is the first priority. Good writing comes in the revision.
Here are a few pieces of advice I gave him as he sets out on his writing journey to ensure he’ll write a good story AND write it well.
Create a reading list. We should always be reading but when I start a writing project, I like to create a custom reading list for that project. I advised my cousin to read books in the same genre as he expects to write. I always like the “Best American Series” books, so I suggested he add The Best American Travel Writing 2012
“How you do one thing is how you do everything.” I can’t remember who originally said this but I’ve heard it many times.
Learning to write or do any art is like peeling an onion. A concept or craft technique I learned two years ago will continue to unfold and grow to a deeper level in my understanding.
One of many of these moments came to me last weekend at the Surrey Writers Conference. I heard over and over that, as writers, we should only send out our best work.
I know this, of course, but it resonated at a deeper level of understanding for me this weekend. Read more
Tanya Lloyd Kyi has a prescription for filling blank pages: Freewrite with childlike abandon. Kyi shared tips about writing and generating ideas in her workshop, “The Inspiration Zone: Practical ways to generate and sustain ideas,” at the Surrey International Writers’ Conference Oct. 19-21.
Kyi said that, as a child, she wrote constantly and didn’t worry about who saw it. But things change when you get older.
“We can find ourselves in a straitjacket worrying about what we’re allowed to write about and not write about,” she said. “Sometimes we have to cast away those doubts and just write.”
Writing prompts can spark ideas for new stories. Read more
If you’ve been reading this blog awhile, you may have seen me mention the term, “good material.” Good material is how I describe any incident, detail, or drama I’ve observed or experienced that might find its way into my writing.
Stories that ring true contain happy and sad events, as well as the mundane and terrifying, because compelling stories are distinguished by conflict and drama.
We’re surrounded by good material but it doesn’t do any good if we don’t recognize and note it.
How do you know what good material is? I like to say you know it when you see it. It might be as simple as an interesting bumper sticker that could later turn up on the car of a character. Read more
If you’ve written a draft and are now ready to jump into revisions, Wise Ink (@Wiseink) reveals a road map in At First Draft: The 6 (Minimum) Steps to Revising Your Manuscript before Submission.
At the blog YA Stands, Rachel Russell (@RachelxRussell) wrote Fisticuffing Revisions Into Submissions, about her process for revising her manuscript.
What’s your approach to revisions?
onewildword 