So you did Nanowrimo! Huzzah!! Or maybe you didn’t, but whether you did it through Nanowrimo or not, you now have a rough draft—maybe a very, very, very rough draft— of your book or script. Huzzah!! So now what? First of all, I hope you’ve had a good long break. If at...
Last weekend before Nanowrimo! ! How about a roadmap for your first week? Yesterday I focused on three essential questions to ask yourself about this adventure you and your main character are about to go on. Now let's expand that. Here are Ten Key Story Elements in a...
Since fall hit, I am pining for the in-person writing conferences, where on top of every other wonderful thing about writing conferences, every single conversation is just a gold mine in writing and marketing information. For this post I’m specifically thinking of a...
I've posted Part 3 of this Is My Story Idea BIG Enough? series today, too. But based on some conversations I've been having, in the workshop and out of it, I also feel the need to post something that you might call an anti-Nanowrimo post. Because the very last thing I...
To get the supplemental material for the workshops this weekend - the story structure grid, a full movie breakdown, Preptober/Nanowrimo information, etc. - use the Get Free Story Structure Extras button in the right column of this screen, or click here. Also check...
Happy Equinox!! The witch in me compels me to once again gently remind everyone that the weeks of the Equinoxes and Solstices, the three days before and three days after, are an especially powerful time to set intentions.Of course the full energy of the Universe is...
It’s that time of year again… Labor Day weekend marks the beginning of fall (autumn, in the UK!). And for a lot of us, fall is optimum writing time.My natural writing cycles make me most productive in the spring and especially in the fall. It’s no surprise to me that...
This is is the weekend we all would have been in New Orleans, at Bouchercon. It is unnerving, disorienting, and truly, truly heartbreaking—that the reality of Covid and Louisiana’s frightening infection rate forced the Bcon organizers to do the only responsible thing...
