by Shannon Dittemore | Apr 12, 2023 | Author Life, Characters, Creativity, Discovery Writing, Writing, Writing Life
Writing a novel isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s work. And that’s exactly as it should be. Every story starts with the shimmer of an idea. Close enough that you can see its potential, and far enough from realization that you have to chase it down....
by Shannon Dittemore | May 11, 2022 | Discovery Writing, First Drafts, Learning from Other Authors, Story Structure, The Craft of Writing, Writing
Friends! I was listening to the Stories are Soul Food podcast today, and when author ND Wilson shared how he structures the drafting of a novel, it really resonated with me. His process is similar enough to my own style, but with a couple features that I think would...
by Stephanie Morrill | Sep 1, 2021 | Brainstorming, Discovery Writing, First Drafts, Story Ideas
Story ideas come to us in all different ways. Sometimes our spark of a story idea is a character facing a dilemma or making a hard choice. Other times, we might have an idea for a world we want to explore. This is especially common with fantasy or science fiction...
by Shannon Dittemore | Aug 11, 2021 | Discovery Writing, First Drafts, The Craft of Writing, Writing
Whether I’m standing in front of a room full of young writers or I’m sitting at my desk penning an article, my goal is always to give my audience something meaningful, something helpful, and something fresh. I find the most honest way for me to do that is...
by Jill Williamson | Nov 18, 2020 | Author Life, Discovery Writing, Encouragement, First Drafts, Learning from Other Authors, NaNoWriMo, Story Beginnings, Writing
(First, did you see I posted a giveaway blog post on Monday? If you missed it, go and enter!) Now… anyone doing National Novel Writing Month this year? I was. My goal was not so much to win (reach 50,000 words) as it was to write something totally fun—just for...
by Jill Williamson | Sep 24, 2020 | Brainstorming, Discovery Writing, First Drafts, Go Teen Writers Books, Story Beginnings, Story Endings, Story Ideas, Story Middles, The Craft of Writing, Writing Life
Today is the day! We are revealing the book cover for Go Teen Writers: Write Your Novel. This is a book that Stephanie, Shannon, and I wrote for beginning writers. We know it’s hard to finish a first draft. We know it’s hard to stay motivated to write ONE...
