by Jill Williamson | Dec 12, 2018 | Plot, Scenes and Scene Structure
Congratulations! You’ve finished your novel. It’s not perfect, but it’s done. Unfortunately, there are a few holes here and there that you’re not quite sure how to fix. You need more story. The problem is, you’re all out of ideas....
by Stephanie Morrill | Dec 10, 2018 | Grow An Author
Hi, writers! Unbelievable as it may seem, it’s the end of another year. In January, Go Teen Writers will celebrate it’s 9th year in existence. WOW! Go Teen Writers is only fun because of you. We thrive off of your comments and feedback, and we love any...
by Shannon Dittemore | Dec 7, 2018 | Climax, Grow An Author, Story Endings
Before National Novel Writing Month, we were talking about something, weren’t we? Oh yes! How to draft a novel. And specifically, I think we’re on to endings now, which is just fabulous, because who doesn’t like to write THE END? Before we can finish...
by Jill Williamson | Dec 5, 2018 | Denouement, Plot, Story Endings, Story Structure
Since I talked about the “Break into three” concept last time, what would fit perfectly here is a post on Blake Snyder’s Five-Step Finale. I wrote a post on that subject back in April, however, when I was plotting out my book Onyx Eyes, so I decided...
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...
