Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.
Less that two weeks until NaNoWriMo! So here is another prepping article from the folks at Writers Helping Writers!
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Fast-Draft Writing for NaNoWriMo and Every Other Month
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I am an advocate of intentional writing, which almost always means slow writing, but sometimes it makes sense to write a fast draft of a book – if, for example, you are participating in NaNoWriMo, have a chunk of time with few distractions, or have a fast-approaching deadline you are motivated to meet.
Writing fast still requires intentionality. You still need a plan – a clear idea of the point you wish your story to make and a grasp of the best narrative structure to get you there. That is to say, you need to know what you want your reader to walk away feeling after they read your novel and what they will walk away believing about the world or human nature. You also need to know where the story starts and ends and what the reader will be tracking along the way.
Let’s assume that you know all those fundamental elements and you’re ready to write. How do you write fast?
Read the full post on Writers Helping Writers!
Imagine you walk into a candy shop, but what you discover inside, instead of candy, is display after display of subplots. Enough to make any writer’s mouth water, right? Writers love the idea of subplots. They’re rich, juicy, complex, and full of opportunities for taking your story to the next level. But organizing subplots, or even just figuring out what your subplots are? That can sometimes be trickier.
I’ve spent more than three decades writing novels. And at first I had no clue what I was doing.
Usually accompanied by a date when the supposed re-edit took place. And my first thought is what a shame and a waste. Here is someone who didn’t take the time, for whatever reason, when they first put their book up on Amazon to hire a professional editor. People complained because if a book is horribly edited they will complain and take stars off. The author listened to the complaints, which is a good thing, and got professional editing.
Do you have a book inside you that needs to be shared with the world?
In 2013, I observed a conversation on Twitter where a publisher said they didn’t believe in author websites “for a lot of authors”—that social was a better place for authors to spend time from a marketing perspective.
by Tabitha Lord
by James Scott Bell
We all make mistakes. It’s how people learn. But some new writer mistakes can end a writing career before it starts. They play into the hands of the predators who make money off the delusions of newbie writers.
The fact is “rules” can hold you back. I knew going into this that there would be days because of my Addison’s disease that I would struggle. I thought I couldn’t start a blog until it improved because I might not always feel up to posting. That is pretty much what Addison’s does to you. Each day is different because your adrenal gland doesn’t produce enough steroids. Kind of like diabetes except you can’t control it with diet but you are constantly worrying about how much steroids you need. I still haven’t gotten the hang of stress-dosing. And you often don’t feel well. I call it the Princess and The Pea syndrome because my muscles will hurt so that a ruffle in the sheet can cause pain.