NaNoWriMo Prep: Creating A Plot in 4 Easy Steps

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

NaNoWriMo Tips: stage directions and other lessons from script writing

(Why are you reading blogs? Go write! ) When I was younger, I spent a lot of my time (13 years) involved with all things theater. Acting in, writing, and directing plays all taught me a lot about storytelling, and about writing. Playwriting and screenwriting is writing distilled down to an impressive science; instead of … More NaNoWriMo Tips: stage directions and other lessons from script writing

NaNoWriMo Prep: Write Something You Want to Read, with pep talk

Choosing what to write for NaNoWriMo is a challenge. It has been a challenge every month this year for me, and sometimes I lose a few days at the beginning of the month to just trying to find that thread of plot I feel has the energy to carry me through. There are a lot … More NaNoWriMo Prep: Write Something You Want to Read, with pep talk

Unstuck: What to Write When You Don’t Know What to Write – Retell a Story

Retell a fairy tale. When I was a little girl, we had an in-wall space heater in the basement rec room, the kind I've only seen in cheap hotels, but I am sure that the original decorators thought it was the height of interior design. Anyway, in the winter, my dad and I would pile … More Unstuck: What to Write When You Don’t Know What to Write – Retell a Story