Secondary Characters

It occurred to me that I should be more specific about what part of the novel writing process we’re in right now.We’ve spent the last couple weeks talking about our main character. This is a part of the process I refer to as composting. Which is a term I...

Personality facets

Real quick, today’s the last day to enter the writing prompt contest. (Click here if you’re not sure what I’m talking about.) When you send me your 100 words, I always send you an e-mail letting you know I received your entry. If you’ve...

Finding the Extraordinary

For those who missed it yesterday – since I normally don’t post on Thursdays – we had a guest. The lovely and generous Christine Sunderland shared with us a bit about her writing process. She’s also giving away free copies of her books, so...

Main characters need to change

First of all, this is a link to examples of last round’s writing prompt finalists. So if you’re interested in entering this round’s writing prompt contest, check that out to get a feel for what the judges are looking for.Moving on.Let’s take a...

Getting those plot lines to behave

A writer e-mailed me to ask, “Do you think the first ever novel is the hardest to write? Feels like that may be because it’s overwhelming and can be frustrating.”This is a great question.Several of you have talked to me about organizing a novel and...