NaNoWriMo is on the horizon again, starting November 1. The global attempt to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days is a lot of things: invigorating, challenging, and inspirational, to name a few. But it can also be grueling, disappointing, and a r ...
Discovery writers, or write-by-the-seat-of-their-pantsers, may shy away from anything that looks too much like outlining or planning. That includes story structures--surely the idea is to fit your story into the structure before you start writing? Sh ...
I've written about Pacemaker before, but this will be a more comprehensive overview. There are more and more apps out there that help you track what you've already done. Where Pacemaker shines is that it helps you plan how much you need to/can wri ...
This is one of those things that drove me batty until I figured a way to fix it. Scrivener is amazing, even with its limitations. (Still waiting on Scrivener 3 for Windows... *sob*) Screenshots are for Scrivener 1 on Windows. When compiling ...
I published The Monster Novel Structure Workbook in September 2018, and it's been quite a ride. A tough, scary, and rewarding ride. I stretched my skill sets, took risks, and have heard from a lot of readers how the book has helped them right their o ...
A while back I got a comment wishing for a reusable Monster Worksheet, the primary tool for my Monster Novel Structure Workbook. I love this idea, so I researched the options. My first thought was to see what custom-printed white boards would cost ...
With all this pandemic stuff going on I've had to postpone my plans for a print edition of The Monster Novel Structure Workbook. It's something people wanted, and I promise it will happen one day when the shipping companies aren't so overwhelmed.In t ...
Changes are coming to The Monster Novel Structure Workbook! I'm not doing a big launch event or anything, I'm just quietly making these updates and letting them ride. This post details all the yummy new shinies. Plans For a Print Edition I polled m ...
There's a big question on every writer's mind as the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic sets in. What does COVID-19 mean for our writing? Let's not beat around the bush. Our lives have changed drastically, or will soon. This is not an isolated phenom ...
Before each round of Author Mentor Match (a program that matches kidlit and adult writers with mentors--next round open Feb 13th, 2020!) the previously selected mentees volunteer to do query critiques for hopefuls. I always do this, because I love gi ...
The last time I got ready to query, I was advised to get 1-month subscription to Publisher's Marketplace. It's one of the best decisions I could've made. I knew about Publisher's Marketplace before then, and I'd written it off as too expensive ($2 ...
At the start of 2018 I got a round of feedback that was, well, like a fire hose of information. It took me some time to figure out how to analyze it all (you can find that here: How to Process an Edit Letter (with spreadsheets)). While I was working ...
I’ve known for a very long time that I wanted to be a writer. I got my start writing fanfiction (long before AO3) and fanfiction by its nature is a hobby. Writing was what I did in my spare time. It was how I kept myself from being bored to tears in ...
So, you're going to attempt NaNoWriMo this year and you figure now is a great time to also try out Scrivener, cuz, hey, they have discounts and free trials this time of year. Sounds pretty sweet, huh? Then you open Scrivener and realize you have n ...
Many writers wait until their novel is polished and ready to go out before they approach writing their query letter. They have to figure out how to distill 60,000+ words into just 250. No wonder querying is so daunting! Drafting the query letter b ...
Updated 10/29/20 Given a choice between text, audio, and video, I'll pick text 98% of the time. But there are times when audio is a godsend, like when I'm cooking or in the shower. (Showering is boring!) Since I don't have endless hours for listen ...
There are as many ways to brainstorm as there are writers. Surprisingly, there aren't a lot of guides on how to brainstorm that work for me. Most provide prompts or expect you to work alone. And while that can be valuable, I find having another perso ...
I may be a writer but I love using visual cues to organize my writing. I really like and have used index cards to arrange scenes and beats, but that usually requires physical items. I know you can have virtual index cars in Scrivener, but in Scrivene ...
0Days0Hours0Mintues Last week marked 100 days left before NaNoWriMo. Surely not, you may be thinking to yourself. It can't be that close! Oh, but it is. Most people only start thinking about NaNoWriMo in late September or October. And my fri ...
I rebooted a project a short while ago, and I was pleased that each time I felt I needed a new tool I knew exactly what to reach for. My arsenal of devices, software, and more is keeping this project humming along really nicely, so I thought I'd shar ...
I've been thinking a lot over the last few months about what it means to have and set priorities--and then act accordingly. I think a lot of writers think they're prioritizing their writing but don't live as though they are. It's so easy to talk a ...
This song by The Beatles is definitely my revision anthem this year. Aside from being a beautiful song, it's also full of yearning. And that is what revising UNCHURCHED has been like for me: a lot of yearning. Why can't it just BE the book I want ...
First, let's define some terms. Draft Zero is the very first draft, the one you don't dare show anyone because even you haven't read it yet. You don't know what's in there. You don't know if it even tells a complete story yet. The First Draft come ...
2017 was not a good National Novel Writing Month for me. Gearing Up Only a few months before November I was hit with an idea, an idea I loved and could foresee growing into something awesome. It was a YA dystopia inspired by some gruesome things bu ...
