Character, Situation, and Plot
Building a story is more than Character or Plot. At the heart of it is the Situation that the main character is in before a plot can unfold (or needs to be developed if an idea for a plot has already been thought of). I heard somewhere that Alice Walker spent a year with her […]
Writing a third novel and still doubting
Imagine that you’re writing your third novel and still doubt that you can be a writer. Last September I completed a novel. Not just a first draft, or a second structural draft, or a third draft tightening everything up, but the final, read it all aloud, every single word, draft and I have three chapters […]
Tackling writer’s block
We can spend days, weeks, months, or years blocked as we get through our novels. Some of it could be due to not knowing. Not knowing how to write, not knowing how to craft a novel, not knowing what happens next… In a previous post I wrote about being stuck, the responses that came out […]
Getting over the initial fear
Getting over the initial fear of putting pen to paper, placing my fingers onto the keyboard, opening up the last draft, checking my notes, starting the corrections, adjustments, editing my work, working on the millionth (it feels like it) revision of a chapter or a scene, some days feels like the hardest thing in the […]
The second draft edit
As we weave our way through the process of trying to get at least one novel published, many options are presented for editing that we try out to determine if they will work for us. I watched a video about editing and in it an author said that you will have to cut out half […]
Waiting for inspiration
If you’re waiting for inspiration to happen so that you can start writing, well, you could be waiting for a while. For instance, I get inspired in situations when I’m relaxed, comfortable, happy, content like when I’ve just laid my head down to sleep and I’m enjoying the fact that my head is on the […]
First drafts are liberating
First drafts are liberating. They allow you to switch off your inner critic and write, giving freedom to explore a novel idea and, most importantly, get the words onto the page. A first draft gives you an opportunity to throw your characters into situations you may have envisioned for them. It’s a chance to watch […]
A moment of satisfaction
I have printed out a first draft of my second novel which I finished writing last weekend. (My first novel? I completed it to a second draft stage but after working on this novel, I feel a demotion coming on. It’s probably not as bad as I think it is. I wish!) Anyway, after teasing […]