Category: novel
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Should You Write Short Stories Before You Write a Novel?
(Why cacti in the header photo? WHY NOT.) When I started to write (way back when I was wee), I wanted to write novels. So, that is what I did. I wrote novels. (They weren’t actually full length novels. I was a child, and with that comes the attention span of a sparrow when there are…
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Boo! Pick a Plot Line (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and my own dumpster fire WIP)
In which we talk about two things that could not decide on a plot line: a recent first draft of mine and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Let’s start off with Fallen Kingdom, given you probably have more knowledge of it than my first draft (considering like…no one has read it). This is the progression of the…
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Nanowrimo 2018 – A Dumpster Fire
OK…what even happened???? (In other words, I did not win.) I originally was not going to do Nanowrimo this year, because the last three months of 2018 were going to be crazier than usual, and I wouldn’t have time for it. But then October rolled around – that scent of Autumn and running around in…
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Tips to Write Faster for Nanowrimo
NANOWRIMO IS UPON US!! *writers flee to their keyboards in panic* This is my third year doing Nanowrimo. Hopefully this year I will actually succeed. (November is one of the busiest months of the year for me. Couldn’t this be done in January or something?? Read about last year’s episode.) And while I may not…
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Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstien
It’s ALL HALLOW’S EVE (THAT’S HALLOWEEN PEOPLE.) and that means: *drumroll* LEAVES! CANDY! WALKING AROUND IN COSTUMES! But anyway. Last year I wrote When You Find out You’re a Writer (and Arsenic and Old Lace). So THIS year, I did another themed post, but this one is: *drumroll again please* When You Have a New…
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Don’t Let Your Story Disappoint
Way back when, when I was a small pixie sitting on a blue couch in the basement, my sister and I watched Pooh’s Great Adventure: the Search for Christopher Robin. This memory was recalled when my sister and I recently sat down on a semi-blueish-butit’sactuallygray couch and watched it again for old time’s sake. Nostalgia anyone?…
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5 Ways to Add Spice to a Scene
Is a scene in your novel tasting flavorless? Does it just turn to ash in your mouth? You might need more seasoning or you might be a cursed pirate (in which case, go find some lost Aztec gold). Besides the usual ingredients (salt, pepper, garlic powder), you might find that you need some different spices…
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Thought on How You Write that Motivation to Get Your Protagonist Out the Door.
Motivation. This is the driving force in any good story. The protagonist has to be motivated to do the THING. If the protagonist isn’t motivated, they won’t do the THING. Or if they do the THING but aren’t motivated, the story won’t make a lick of sense. There are plenty of ways to give your…
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How to Celebrate When You Finish Your First Draft
Summertime is the time to PARTY. (And by party I mean going to the mountains and finding somewhere quiet where you can finish your book.) And speaking of parties…(I apologize to all the introverts. I realize talking about parties is illegal.) Finishing your first draft can be very exciting. Whether it’s after 30 hysterically frantic…
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If You Don’t Believe in Your Book, No one Will. (I swear I’m not trying to sound like a cat poster.)
(Header Photo by Inês Pimentel on Unsplash) (I’m also not trying to sound like Galadriel.) For those of us writing fiction (which I think most of us here???), we are writing just that. Fiction. Fake stuff. Make believe. Unicorns and dragons and hob goblins. And everybody knows it. Readers pick up your book and think, “This is a novel.…
Bernadette Benda 