Writing the Scene You’ve Been Avoiding
We all have it: that scene the plot is going to demand, or the one that history requires, or the one that really will push your hero to a new place. Sometimes, it’s fun and exciting, the scene we’ve been waiting to get to, that’s been simmering in our brains all along as we work […]
Friday Five: 5 Quick Things to Remember When You’re Writing a Scene
I’ve been thinking about scenes lately, one of my favorite elements of writing, and thought I’d share. 1. Your hero has to be active. She has to want something and go after it. 2. Your antagonist has to be active. Just like the hero. Even if it’s from behind the scenes. 3. Both goals have […]
Cause: The All-Important WHY
Those of you who’ve been reading this blog for a while know I’m a plotter. I had to “pants” for a while on the first draft of this WIP, and it was not a happy place for me. Effective, yes, but not happy. So, of course, I’m in love with being back to plotting as […]
What Would Caro Do?
Today, I will get closer to Caro, the hero of my YA WIP. Well, that’s the plan. I’m still plotting into the middle. I’d say “through” the middle, but not yet feeling that optimistic. And I’m realizing that part of the problem I’m having with the current mish-mash of scenes is that I haven’t honed […]
Triangles-More Angles and Sharp Edges
Geometry? I don’t think so. Triangles, in math, hold no appeal for me. Triangles in fiction, though, are a whole different subject. The picture book I’m working on has three characters. Okay, well, four, but one’s a surprise, and I’m not talking about that one yet. But the family–three members. I knew what the son–the […]
Thursday’s Target-A Rainbow of Sticky Notes
Yesterday, I reread Robin LaFevers post on index cards. Then I went out and bought some sticky notes. Two packs. Five colors each. Because I’m confused. Not from Robin’s post. From my own plot. Too confused to know what to write next. So I’m trying something that occasionally works for me, but only occasionally–going visual. […]
Writing Out of Order
Yesterday, I typed up a quick “summary” of my story, for a critique partner who’s coming up today to do some talking & brainstorming. Summary is in quotes there, because, well…there are lots of gaps and “I don’t know yets” along the way. But what I really noticed missing is any real sequence to the […]
Scene Transitions
Remember, in the days when you were writing essays for English class, and a teacher would write the word “transition” in the margin of your paper? They wanted you to smooth out the jump from one paragraph to another, to use a phrase that would make the flow of text more clean. So you’d stick in something […]
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