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 Jill Williamson | Oct 31, 2018 | First Drafts, NaNoWriMo
Have you signed on for this year’s National Novel Writing Month? I have! I’m determined to finish a novel I’ve been working on ALL YEAR LONG. NaNo starts tomorrow. (I can’t believe it’s here already!) But I am ready. Are you? Here are...
by Stephanie Morrill | Oct 22, 2018 | Brainstorming, First Drafts, Writing Competitions
While November is officially National Novel Writing Month, October is unofficially prep-your-novel-for-NaNoWriMo month. If you’re not familiar with it, NaNoWriMo is an international event where you “win” by writing 50,000 words during the month of...
by Shannon Dittemore | Oct 19, 2018 | First Drafts, Grow An Author
It’s Friday again! Doughnuts all around, methinks! Over the past few weeks we’ve been discussing the cracks that have a tendency to show up in our manuscripts when we reach the mid-way point of our first draft. We’ve looked at ways to address...
by Shannon Dittemore | Oct 12, 2018 | First Drafts, Grow An Author, Plot, Story Structure
Over the past few Fridays, we’ve been talking about the pitfalls of story middles. Often it’s here, in the dead center of things, that we begin to notice the cracks climbing through the words of our tale. It’s easy to panic and abandon our story for something new and...
by Jill Williamson | Oct 10, 2018 | First Drafts, Plot
It’s no secret that I love screenwriter Blake Snyder’s book Save the Cat. That’s where I first learned the term “promise of the premise.” Every book or movie makes a promise to potential readers and viewers. For a book, this promise comes...
