I have something new for you all, but REALLY, you helped create it. Yesterday, in a desperate attempt to come up with a blog topic, I sent out a call for writing questions on Instagram.

Boy, did you all respond! THANK YOU for that. Many of the questions felt like they could be answered quickly, and I thought, “HEY! Let’s do some sort of quick hits blog post.”

So here it is! Some of your questions will be better served by longer answers, so I’ll save those for later and perhaps pass a few onto Jill and Steph. We’ll handle those as we’re able to do so in our traditional GTW Mailbag format.

But today? Today, we have a few quick hits. Five to be exact.

You asked:

Do you have any templates or worksheets for developing characters?

It would be really handy if I had a character template to share, wouldn’t it? I’ll cheat and link you to this handy dandy page we’ve created called FREE DOWNLOADS for TEEN WRITERS. There you’ll find several character handouts created by Jill and Steph. And they’re lovely.

Confession: I really like the idea of worksheets and profiles and templates, but I don’t use them. These days, if I use anything, it’s Stephanie’s story workbook, and I mostly use it to keep track of decisions I make as I discovery write. That’s how I work. I discovery write everything, which means I flesh out my characters, setting, plot, etc, as I draft. It makes for a fair amount of self-editing, but it feels more organic to me. Fits my style. Here’s a couple articles I wrote last year on the topic:

Discovering My Protagonist

Discovering My Cast of Characters

Do you have any tips for reaching high daily word counts consistently?

Word sprints. When I’m trying to get an idea out of my head or just put words on the page to move around later, I set a timer for fifteen or twenty minutes and I write until it goes off. Sometimes, I make a quick list beforehand of things that would be fun to explore over the next couple pages and that helps keep me going if I get stuck. But mostly, I just write until the timer goes off. When that happens, I let myself reread what I just wrote and fix any glaring typos. Then I hop up, reheat my coffee, set the timer and go again. In this way, I can put down 300 to 500 words in a quarter of an hour. And, honestly, they’re usually pretty good words. Words I can work with, at least. There’s a place for meticulously thinking through a plot point or a character motivation, but there’s something magical about our first thoughts. 

Do you have any more publishing insights? I love what’s been on the blog lately?

I wasn’t entirely sure if this reader was asking about my personal journey or just some more insight into the industry. We have featured several industry related posts here lately (Why You Need an Agent and Where to Find One and Working With an Editor), and I’m guessing you want more?

Is there something specific you’re hoping for? It has crossed my mind that maybe I could wrangle my editor into letting me interview her. She’s amazing and wicked clever. What do you think about that? Maybe you guys could send over questions? I’ll check in with her and see what she says.

How do you write a satisfying ending?

I have a great resource for you! Stephanie put together a list of last year’s most popular Go Teen Writers posts and there’s a whole section on endings. Definitely check that out.

Very briefly, I think the key (or perhaps a key) to creating satisfying endings is to ensure that the promises you made at the outset of the book are fulfilled by the end of your story.

I’ve read a couple books lately where the second half of the book seemed to be answering a whole different set of questions than were presented early on. It makes for a stilted read, I think.

Beginnings help with endings and vice versa. If you’re struggling with your ending, I suggest making a list of the promises you made and the questions you posed early on in the story. That should point you in the right direction. 

How do you find time to write?

I make time. I know that’s not what you wanted to hear, but it’s as difficult and simple as that. While there are some seasons in our lives where writing a book is just not feasible, the truth is that it’s never convenient to do so. You must put something down in order to pick up this unwieldy knapsack of a hobby.

Writing takes up space–mental, emotional, and physical space. It also requires time. Which means everyone who’s ever finished a book has sacrificed something (likely many somethings) to get there.

If you’re not in that place, that’s okay. You’re young. You should try lots of hobbies and pastimes, see what you like, what you excel at. But if you’ve decided that writing’s your thing, you will have to sacrifice to make it happen. You’ll have to make time and space in your life to pursue it. Period.

YOU GUYS! Thank you so much for helping me with today’s blog post. I’ve enjoyed these QUICK HITS and may have to bring back this feature for a round two. Until then, remember, you can always send us a question through the home page on the blog. Simply scroll to the bottom and you’ll see the form.

Tell me, do you have answers to some of these quickfire questions? I’d love to hear your thoughts as well.

Shannon Dittemore is an author and speaker. Her books include the Angel Eyes trilogy, a supernatural foray into the realm of angels and demons, as well as the fantastical adventure novel Winter, White and Wicked. Its sequel, Rebel, Brave and Brutal is due out January 10, 2023.

Shannon’s stories feature strong female leads grappling with fear and faith as they venture into the wilds of the unknown. She’s often wondered if she’s writing her own quest for bravery again and again.

It’s a choice she values highly. Bravery. And she’s never more inspired than when young people ball up their fist and punch fear in the face.

To that end, Shannon takes great joy in working with young writers, both in person and online at Go Teen Writers, an instructional blog recognized by Writer’s Digest four years running as a “101 Best Websites for Writers” selection.

For more about Shannon and her books, please visit her website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.