By this time, we hope you've been inspired to work on some stories of your own. They may not be novels yet, but they could be the start of something big. How do you know if you're on the right track? Almost all professional writers have a … [Continue reading]
Writing Lesson 17 – Research Can Be Fun!
December 18, 2009 By Leave a Comment
I tell my writing students that I was a hopelessly nerdy teenager. When I illustrate by explaining that I looked forward to writing research papers because I just loved to dig through the dusty shelves of the library, they are inclined to agree! But … [Continue reading]
Writing Lesson 16 – Picking Ripe Characters
December 11, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Stories Start on the Brink of Change When you’re thinking about the characters for your story, choose ripe characters. Concoct a man who is on the brink of a choice. Or a woman who must make a moral decision, say between saving her job or exposing a … [Continue reading]
Writing Lesson 15 – Priming Your Pump
December 4, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Writing Prompts Are you keeping your pump primed? In order to get a stopped water pump working, it’s sometimes necessary to pour water over the stalled pump’s parts. This is called priming the pump. Once the water is running through the machine, … [Continue reading]
Writing Lesson 14 – Maddening Middles
November 27, 2009 By Leave a Comment
A Novel is More than a Beginning and an End Here are some novel facts: Most average novels run between 55,000-80,000 words. A “long novel” is considered to be a novel upwards of 80,000 words and stopping at about 100,000. No matter how you … [Continue reading]
