When DO You Back Up & Start Over?
I am the queen of writing forward. Okay, I’m the queen of telling other people to do that. Nobody has ever said I don’t have strong opinions. Or that I don’t share them. So what’s happening? Well, as so often happens when we spout off share our opinions, life seems to be coming back at […]
Let’s Talk about 1st Drafts: A (Hopefully) Gentle Post-Nano Pep Talk
A week or so ago, I blogged about progress–thinking about what people would be feeling as they came to the end of NaNo. Now that NaNo is over & authors everywhere are actually looking over what they did produce in November, I’m feeling the need to talk about things a little bit more. Actually, this […]
Somebody Else Says: Beth Revis
Beth Revis’ Writing it Out blog is one of the regulars on my read list. She’s got a couple of posts this week that I wanted to share. She’s looking back at her latest BIG revision, and she’s posted about the things that did and didn’t work (with ideas about how to fix the latter, next […]
Revision: Trickling in the Last Bits
Yesterday, I sent off my revisions of The Writing & Critique Group Survival Guide to my editor. You may now join me in doing the dance of joy. I’m happy with the revision. My editor made wonderful suggestions anywhere he thought I should make a change, and it was so great to get the feeling that […]
Critiques: Writing up the Big Stuff
At my workshop last weekend, for the Redwood Writers, I took the participants through a few of the basics of critiquing: Reading the manuscript Writing the critique Presenting the critique After a few minutes of my blathering talking, I had them get into groups and practice these basics. Then I critiqued their critique and we talked out a few […]
Receiving a Critique: What Can YOU Do?
There are two sides to every coin and, almost always, to every situation. This rule applies very well to critique groups. I’ve always known this, but it’s hitting home again as I work on The Critiquer’s Survival Guide. (Half the book is heading to the editor this week–three cheers!) I hear a lot of stories […]
When to Query
This week, I’m sending out some queries. I’m as sure as I can be that these are queries I need to send, and that my project is where it needs to be to show to an agent. I know, though, that this is a big question I hear lots of writers asking–when is the right […]
Guest Blogger: Martha Alderson
Martha Alderson is a friend, a critique partner, and a wonderful teacher of plot. Her blog, The Plot Whisperer, is a font of information about crafting your fiction, and you can buy Martha’s book and other plot tools at her website, Blockbuster Plots. To celebrate the end of NaNoWriMo, Martha has declared December National Plot […]
Les Edgerton’s Hooked
Back in October, I talked about The Writer’s Journey, by Christopher Vogler. In that post, I mentioned Les Edgerton’s book Hooked: Write Fiction That Grabs Readers at Page One & Never Lets Them Go. I said I’d talk more about Edgerton’s book in another post. So here we are. With November and NaNoWriMo ending, and […]
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