A couple weeks ago, I mentioned here that I’ve been known to use Post-It Notes to plot out a story on the back of the door to my workroom. It’s a quick trick and a handy way to get ready for NaNoWriMo (or to stay on track if you’ve already started), so let me build […]
Writing Lesson 3.9-Genre: What is it?
October 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Please allow me to introduce today’s guest blogger, Shannon McNear! Shannon has been writing one thing or another since third grade and has completed five novels in genres from Southern fiction to Revolutionary War historical to fantasy. She has eight children–two in college and six still homeschooling–but does her best to steal slivers of writing […]
Writing Lesson 3.8-Get Ready for NaNoWriMo!
October 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment
It’s hard to imagine that any lover of literary lore hasn’t heard of NaNoWriMo, but hey…the truth is sometimes stranger than fiction. NaNoWriMo, short National Novel Writing Month, is billed by it’s non-profit sponsors, the Office of Letters and Light, as “30 days and nights of literary abandon!” You may abandon a lot of things […]
Writing Lesson 3.6-The Plot Thickens
September 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Sandra Orchard has been our guest contributor this month. She “forgot” to mention in her bio that her unpublished manuscript won the Daphne DuMaurier Award in 2009. I don’t need to tell you that’s a pretty big deal! She sold her first story to Love Inspired Suspense the next year. If you’d like to read […]
Writing Lesson 3.5-A Quick Way to Draw in Your Readers
September 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment
A guest post by Sandra Orchard Details. Not a hundred of them listed ad nauseum, but key details unique to the POV character that are both fresh and rich in sensory information. Dig deep into the scene. Don’t just say your hero is wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Maybe his mom hung them on the […]