by Stephanie Morrill | Dec 3, 2018 | Author Life, First Drafts, Grow An Author
There are a few habits that I picked up early in my writing journey that I’ve hung onto, and one of them is not letting anyone see my first drafts. I certainly don’t believe this is something that all writers should do/have to do, and I know many choose to...
by Shannon Dittemore | Nov 30, 2018 | Author Life, NaNoWriMo, Writing
November 30th, you guys. It is officially the last day of National Novel Writing Month. I’m posting this through a grin because neither Jill, Steph or I won NaNo this year. We gave it our best effort and pulled up short. I have things to say to those of you who hit...
by Jill Williamson | Nov 28, 2018 | Editing, First Drafts, NaNoWriMo, Scenes and Scene Structure
First of all, as I’ve said before, National Novel Writing Month isn’t all about “winning.” Most of you know that 50,000 words isn’t long enough to be a full novel, anyway. The point is to get yourself writing, to write in community with...
by Stephanie Morrill | Nov 26, 2018 | Author Life, Guest Posts
Being the oldest child, an introvert, and a lover of journals, I’m naturally a planner. I love making lists and plans, I actually enjoy writing out schedules. There’s nothing more satisfying than creating an aesthetically-pleasing list of goals, or completing a story...
by Stephanie Morrill | Nov 19, 2018 | Antagonists, Grow An Author, Plot, Story Endings, Story Structure
Here’s something that confused me about story structure back when I wrote contemporary young adult fiction: Any teaching on the hero’s journey/three act structure tends to focus on stories with traditional villains. And in the third act when teachers talk...
by Shannon Dittemore | Nov 16, 2018 | Author Life, NaNoWriMo
It’s been sixteen days, you guys! Who’s still with me? Today, shall be all about confessions and I’ll start. *deep breath* I am not going to hit 50k. I’m just not. The sick bug combined with some FANTASTIC, albeit distracting, publishing news...
by Jill Williamson | Nov 14, 2018 | Plot, Story Endings, Story Structure
How is your NaNo going? Mine was going really well, then I got behind. To be fair, I’m at a little over 17K, but I am supposed to be at 25K by tomorrow and there is no way I’m going to manage that. I had a busy weekend and so much to catch up on that I...
by Stephanie Morrill | Nov 12, 2018 | First Drafts, Grow An Author, Story Endings
I learn new things with every book I write, even the ones that I ultimately never finish. Within These Lines probably taught me more than just about any book I’ve ever written because there were so many unique things about writing the story. Like: I’ve...
by Shannon Dittemore | Nov 9, 2018 | Author Life, NaNoWriMo
We are a full nine days into National Novel Writing Month, friends, and I MUST know how you are doing. The wheels fell off for me this week. My little cold became a big cold and I’m still fighting away. I keep thinking I’m getting better, but then it...
by Jill Williamson | Nov 7, 2018 | Dark Night of the Soul, Plot, Story Middles, Story Structure
All good stories are about a Character who changes in some way. The Character starts out believing a LIE. And through the course of the story, he tries hard to hold onto that LIE. This becomes more and more difficult as the story progresses and the Bad Guys Close In....
