It’s Stupid Advice Saturday! Last week we talked about how said is, happily, not dead. This week’s victim: “Write what you know.” On the face of it, this is actually not bad advice. We all have unique experiences in this world – unique perspectives and stories of our own that need telling. We should write… Continue reading Stupid Advice Saturday: “Write what you know”
“Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off.” -Coco Chanel Aside from being a thorn in the side of everyone trying to rock a maximalist aesthetic for the better part of the last century, this is actually a pretty good piece of writing advice. At least, it is for… Continue reading Warmup Wednesday: Do you really need all that stuff in your novel?
“Write down everything that happens in the story, then in your second draft make it look like you knew what you were doing all along.” -Neil Gaiman Every Sunday of this glorious National Novel Writing Month 2022, I’ll be doing a mini-deep-dive into a particular element of story structure that might be giving you trouble… Continue reading Story Structure Sunday: How to write act one of a novel
Welcome to the first of four Stupid Advice Saturdays, where I debunk ridiculously common but also ridiculously misguided writing advice that you should absolutely under no circumstances listen to. Or at the very least, take with the most massive grain of salt you can possibly find. First on our list we have one of the… Continue reading Stupid Advice Saturday: “Said is Dead”
Welcome to the first Warmup Wednesday! Every Wednesday during Nanowrimo this year, I’ll be sharing a different writing exercise to help you get into the swing of noveling. This week, we’re doing one of my favorite warmups: plain dialogue. The beginning of a novel is all about characterization: establishing who your characters are, what they… Continue reading Warmup Wednesday: Let’s fix your dialogue
Well, friends, November is upon us, and with it National Novel Writing Month. It’s time to whip out a blank word document, grab the nearest half-baked novel idea, and BS yourself a 50,000-word manuscript in 30 days. This, in case you have somehow missed this critical fact about me, is my absolute favorite writing event… Continue reading Nanowrimo 2022 Kickoff!
Happy Halloween — and more importantly, happy Nanowrimo Eve! With the very best month of the year just hours away, the anxiety is setting in for many. What, you may wonder, in the name of all that is good, were you thinking signing up for this thing? Worse still, all anyone will tell you is… Continue reading Nanowrimo advice that will actually help you win
Ah, the first draft. The first step on the long staircase to publication, held together with the writing equivalent of duct tape and prayers. If you squint, it looks like a novel, but it’s never quite what you thought it would be, is it? It’s almost Nanowrimo time, meaning that millions of people about to… Continue reading Everything you need to know about first drafts
Happy April, everyone! The sun is shining, the flowers are blooming, allergy season is beginning to reassert its dominance over us all, and the first sesssion of Camp Nanowrimo 2022 is here. As a devoted participant in any Nanowrimo event I’ve been able to get my hands on since the year 2011, I’m proud to… Continue reading How to survive Camp Nanowrimo and have fun doing it
In honor of the April session of Camp Nanowrimo kicking off tomorrow, today we’re going to talk about a topic very near and dear to my heart: the debate over plotting vs. pantsing. If you’ve participated in Nanowrimo or any of its associated events before, you have almost definitely run across this, and probably gotten… Continue reading Plotting vs. pantsing, and why you should do neither