NaNoWriMo
It’s day 7 of NaNoWriMo. We writing warriors have survived the first glorious week. Today is Double Up Day at the NaNoWriMo Headquarters. If you want an extra challenge, then double up your word count for the day. (And get $50 worth of swag for a $25 donation!) Those who are writing, keep writing. Those who have … More A Brief NaNoWriMo Pep Talk
Today, I took myself to a cafe to do not much in particular. I sat at a wobbly table in the back – the only seating available on a chill fall day – and let my mind wander as I listened to the comforting white noise of people typing, conversations, music I could barely make … More Cultivating Creativity with Boredom
Right now, we’re still in the first blushes of NaNoWriMo. Those who have started are beginning to feel what it is like to write their stories, to write and keep writing, feeling that initial rush of a plot beginning to form (I don’t think that feeling ever goes away). Some, like me, have yet to … More NaNoWriMo: For All Those Who Haven’t Started Yet
With NaNoWriMo in full swing, the O-word is being flung about a lot, and I need to get this off my chest. I’m resurrecting an old post because it is every bit as true today as it was 3 years and 6 novels ago. I am not a fan of outlining. In fact, it takes … More Reasons I Hate Outlines With A Firey Passion
So far, I’ve talked about antagonists and monsters and the differences between them, but merely mentioning these two aspects of the villain spectrum leaves a hole in the middle – one that begs to be filled by some of the best villains in fiction. Disney’s old Maleficent, The Joker, Patrick Bateman, Lestat, pretty much any … More Writing Villains: The Hybrid
In a previous post, I discussed how monsters are different than other kinds of antagonists or villains. Today, I want to talk about the most common of villains: the antagonist. Simply put, the antagonist it the character or characters who’s motives act in opposition to the main character (protagonist). To create actual plot and tension, these … More Writing Villains: Antagonists
There are a lot of different kinds of villains or antagonists in fiction – just as many as there are protagonists. While plot and a main character are very important, finding what the main character is working against is equally, if not more, essential to driving a plot forward. Antagonists keep the story going; they … More Writing Villains: Monsters
So you want to do NaNoWriMo, but you’re not really good at this plot thing. Maybe you’ve written short stories but not a novel, maybe you’ve always wanted to write a novel, but you don’t have any idea of how to make a plot. Maybe you’ve written or are writing your Good Novel Idea, and … More NaNoWriMo Prep: Creating A Plot in 4 Easy Steps
Goals are powerful things. And I believe they are equally powerfully misunderstood. Most of us when we think about a goal associate it with failure, with meeting with supervisors and guidance counselors, of failed weight loss attempts, massive dreams turned gripping defeats. The mere word GOAL is enough to turn the stomach of many people. … More Goals are Powerful Things
The following is an excerpt from a post I wrote back in May, 2013: Developing Characters Part One: Getting to know you Our characters are people – people we’re giving free rent to in our heads, sometimes for years. And they ought to be worth that time to create, to find the right one for the … More NaNoWriMo Prep: Creating Characters Worth Writing
Concerning History in the Atlantic World, 1680-1740
The long haul of the spectrum
one woman's thoughts about life on the spectrum
Japanese pop culture through a feminist lens
The official blog of Michelle Tuckett, word ninja. 