I was reading one of my favorite wordsmiths, KM Weiland, and came across this nugget of wisdom on editing. As we all know, editing is a vital part of the writing process, but sometimes, we “miss things” that disrupt the flow of the story.
Hello everyone, I have been doing a lot of “soul searching” over the past several months. There have been some ups and a lot of downs, but one thing remained constant. My love of writing. Helping people muddle through their sticky parts or working (slowly) on my own work is a joy that I cannot express. For several months, I allowed the ‘downs’ to distract me. I looked at writing as a chore rather than a part of me. Yes,…
Good Monday everyone. It’s a muggy and foggy morning—perfect for penning thoughts, warming up with tea, and connecting with all of you Today’s prompt from WD struck a chord with me, and I wanted to share why. I’ve been revisiting my Middle Grade book, which, to be frank, has been feeling a bit too predictable. But then I remembered a line from the Goosebumps Movie that RL Stein himself loved (and wished he’d thought of it.) In the film, RL…
The following is derived from Dan Harmon’s Story Circle. Below, the “Circle” is applied to the book “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” Harry Potter, Book 1, Story Circle: A Character’s Zone of Comfort or Familiarity: Harry Potter is an ordinary boy, living a miserable life with his cruel aunt, uncle, and cousin in the Dursley’s house. They Desire / Want Something: Harry yearns for escape and to know more about his deceased parents, whom he barely remembers. They Enter…
In a previous post, The Breakdown of the Chapter, I discussed how to avoid becoming overwhelmed by the enormity of writing an entire novel by approaching it one chapter at a time. Below is one example of using the Breakdown Method for a chapter. Each Chapter utilizes the same elements as the entire book. Not every chapter in your novel will use all the components listed below. However, if you using a Chapter Breakdown mindset, it will make the process…