Friday, November 29, 2013
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Monday, November 25, 2013
Friday, November 22, 2013
On Blogging
Today while visiting Sarah Aronson's blog, Beyond Revision, I found this quote:
"As you teach, you learn. As you learn, you write. As you blog, you get to goof around."
Have a great weekend.
"As you teach, you learn. As you learn, you write. As you blog, you get to goof around."
Have a great weekend.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Adding Details
Nothing
beats firsthand experience for writing authentic sensory details. I know of two
authors who walked barefoot in the snow, one who slurped raw turtle eggs, and
another learned how to fire a flintlock rifle.
In
my novel, my protagonist must crawl through a tunnel while wearing a long
skirt. The scene needed details. I considered crawling through a plastic tube
on a kids’ climbing apparatus, but those tunnels are significantly bigger than
the one in my novel. I constructed a small tunnel by balancing a sofa cushion
over a chair arm and an end table. I put on my one long skirt and made the
crawl. My first discovery was I couldn’t make it through on my hands and knees.
I had to drop down to my elbows. My protagonist’s sleeves would get wet and
dirty. Then my lower back hit the top, so I had to slide forward in almost a
combat crawl. Her poor outfit! Then the knot I’d tied in the skirt to keep it
out of the way came undone. Of course my furniture construction project was a cushier
option than the stone tunnel facing my main character, but the details still helped
me improve the scene.
What
have you done to make your novel realistic?
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Friday, November 8, 2013
The First 250 Words
This
morning on the SCBWI Blog, I found a link to the Fifth Annual YA Novel Discovery Contest from Serendipity Literary Agency. Contestants
are requested to submit the first 250 words of their novel.
I opened my manuscript
and selected a bit less than a page then checked the word count. After a few tries,
I discovered that 249-words landed at the end of a sentence. Then I copied and pasted
that section into a new file and tried to imagine myself as an agent or editor
reading it cold. I asked these questions.
Is
opening compelling?
How many characters appear in the first 250 words?
Is it clear who these characters are and what their relationships are?
Is the reader given a clue about the novel’s main problem?
Is the genre of the novel obvious?
Can the reader tell where the scene takes place?
How many characters appear in the first 250 words?
Is it clear who these characters are and what their relationships are?
Is the reader given a clue about the novel’s main problem?
Is the genre of the novel obvious?
Can the reader tell where the scene takes place?
This
is a lot to be answered on a single page. Certainly the most important consideration
is having a compelling opening.
My
answers are:
The first paragraph still needs work.
4
Yes
Maybe
The first paragraph still needs work.
4
Yes
Maybe
Maybe
Yes
I haven’t decided if I will enter the contest.
Yes
I haven’t decided if I will enter the contest.
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Need a Critique?
Deborah Halverson is having a contest on her blog, DearEditor.com. The winner gets a free 10-page critique. The contest is for any type of fiction.
Deborah's presentation at the fall SCBWI-MI retreat received rave reviews. I wish I'd been able to attend.
Deborah's presentation at the fall SCBWI-MI retreat received rave reviews. I wish I'd been able to attend.
Labels:
blog to blog,
contests,
critiquing,
writing
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Friday, November 1, 2013
Not Me
I never do NaNoWriMo. Most Novembers, I use the excuse that I'm in the middle of revising, but I have other reasons.
First,
I trust my process. I write by working every day, unless I’m ill, traveling or
extremely busy. Writing every day is a luxury, and I cherish it. Churning out a
specific word count daily would make writing a chore.
Second,
there are good and bad writing days. In the end, word counts are irrelevant. One
great sentence can make a good writing day. Cutting a few thousand words can make
a better one.
Third
I’m not much of a joiner. I wish all the participants of NaNoWriMo luck,
inspiration and great writing days. It’s just not for me.
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