Typically, writing students are excited two times: at the very beginning of the writing course and again at the end (because they are graduating and/or being published.) Book writers are also excited at the beginning of a project (when their idea and characters are new) and at the end (when the final draft is complete or it’s […]
Month: October 2013
The Danger of Fuzzy Goals
How’s your focus? It’s a question I’ve dealt with this month as I’ve led two October writing challenges and am thinking about goals for 2014. I started out the month great, but I lost focus somewhere. I set out to discover why. My calendar was so full of very good things, but I was frequently exhausted and […]
NaNoWriMo Accountability Challenge: Sign Up Now!
Last week I posted some links and information about the National Novel Writing Month (November). I mentioned that I would do a November accountability challenge if enough interest was shown. I heard from plenty of you to have a good-sized group! Modified Children’s Writers NaNoWriMo As many of you know, NaNoWriMo has its own website with […]
Writing Boundaries: Thinking Like a Nine-to-Fiver
Time pressure and interruptions–they’re always with us. Right? To a certain extent, yes. I have several appointments coming up that will take three hours out of several different days and a couple of favors I didn’t have the nerve to say “no” to. I was bemoaning the chunk of work time that would be deducted […]
November Challenge: Getting Ready for NaNoWriMo
Around half a million writers are expected to register for National Novel Writing Month in November. What is this challenge, more often known as NaNoWriMo? It’s a wild and fun (free) writers’ support group online where you sign up to write through the 30 days of November to reach 50,000 words. They’ve made a number of […]
What Am I Called to Write?
Do you have a writing gift? Do you have a knack with words? Do you feel an inner desire to write? Even if you don’t use the word with friends or family, do you feel called to write? Most of you who read this blog said a resounding “yes!” to those questions a long time ago. […]
Organization: Why Word Count Matters
[This article is reprinted by permission of the author. Award-winning novelist Randy Ingermanson, “the Snowflake Guy,” publishes the free monthly Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine, with more than 6,200 readers. If you want to learn the craft and marketing of fiction, AND make your writing more valuable to editors, AND have FUN doing it, visit www.AdvancedFictionWriting.com.] […]