So far in this series, we've talked about characters and their story goals. We've established a plot sentence or logline summarizing the basics of our stories. In our loglines, we included a short phrase for the story's setting. Today we're going to dig deeper into exactly how to construct that world where the action happens. … Continue reading Novel Writing 101: Bringing the Setting to Life
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Five Courses of the Rough Draft: Are You Hungry Yet? A Guest Post by Laura L. Zimmerman
Welcome to summer, dear friends! Are you savoring the return of longer days and sunshine? Today I have a special treat for you - a guest post written by fabulous MG/ YA writer and homeschool mom, Laura L. Zimmerman. And since we've been working in this series on putting together all the pieces to write … Continue reading Five Courses of the Rough Draft: Are You Hungry Yet? A Guest Post by Laura L. Zimmerman
Novel Writing 101: Creating a Target with a Plot Sentence
Hello again, friends! I'm very excited to tackle today's topic, because my own lack of knowledge in this area caused my early writing efforts to flounder. I spent months writing and rewriting my stories, but felt like they were never quite hitting the target I wanted. Probably (duh!), because I had never created the target … Continue reading Novel Writing 101: Creating a Target with a Plot Sentence
Novel Writing 101: A Great Story Starts with the Characters
Think about some of your favorite books. What is it that drew you into the story the first time? Maybe it was a cool idea (dinosaurs! time travel!) or an exotic setting (space stations! Middle Earth!). Or maybe you were lured in by the art on the cover. But whatever caused you to pick it … Continue reading Novel Writing 101: A Great Story Starts with the Characters
Novel Writing 101: So You Want to Write a Book?
Have you ever had the dream of writing a book? Maybe, thinking to yourself something like this? "I'm going to write a novel this year. This time, I'm really going to do it." A surprising number of people have tossed around this idea before, or included it on their bucket list for lifetime goals. Maybe you're … Continue reading Novel Writing 101: So You Want to Write a Book?
Crafting a Writer’s Mission Statement
Hello, dear readers and writers! As promised, today we are going to talk about creating a...drumroll, please...Writer's Mission Statement. Now you may be asking, what is a mission statement, and why would I need such a thing as a writer? The short answer is, mission statements are important to define your vision and keep on … Continue reading Crafting a Writer’s Mission Statement
Celebrate Spring with a CSA Share
Hello, dear readers! It may not look or feel like spring here today, but warmer weather and sunshine are just around the corner. And this week, to celebrate spring's arrival, I've decided to take a break from my usual writerly topics to talk about something else I'm passionate about--eating locally-grown food. True confession: For the … Continue reading Celebrate Spring with a CSA Share
Meet a WIP: “Flashback”
For this post, I thought I'd take a break from our regular writing topics to introduce you to one of my stories. (For those of you aren't writers, WIP means "Work In Progress.") Flashback is an Inspirational Romantic Suspense of about 60,000 words and my first completed novel. I wrote the first draft several years … Continue reading Meet a WIP: “Flashback”
4 Obstacles to Using Your Writing Time Effectively
Let's take a quick survey. Raise your hand if you've ever sat down to write, and realized 45 minutes later that you only managed to squeeze out a couple of sentences. (My hand's up, in case you can't see it.) But how did this happen, you wonder? You were fully committed. You scrutinized your schedule … Continue reading 4 Obstacles to Using Your Writing Time Effectively
The Busy Person’s Guide to Finding Time to Write
Just out of curiosity, who here has ever thought, "I just have too much time"? I mean, am I the only one? Between homeschooling my three kids, cleaning the house, buying groceries and preparing meals, driving kids around, exercising, going to church... I just have SO much extra time on my hands. Okay, yes, I'm … Continue reading The Busy Person’s Guide to Finding Time to Write
Kellie Michelle Parker 