Whew! Where does the time go? I can’t believe we’ve already passed the halfway point of November. Are you anywhere near the midpoint of your story? I’m doing better than I’d anticipated, but I’m only about 12k (25%) into my ghostwritten novel, which isn’t the midpoint, not by a long shot. How’s your word count,Continue reading “Pace Yourself: Halfway Through NaNoWriMo”
Author Archives: Marie E
The Problem with Cliffhangers
It’s not a huge problem, so if you’ve already gathered your torches and pitchforks, you can put them away again. My problem with cliffhangers is that most people don’t know how to define cliffhanger, and so they end up cutting off a book mid-scene, with no plot arc at all. Guess what. That’s not aContinue reading “The Problem with Cliffhangers”
NaNoWriMo: You Can Do This!
We’ve reached day four already, I can’t believe it! How is your word count looking? The stated goal for day four is 6668 words, and if you’re on track, awesome! If not, don’t fret, there’s always time for a word sprint or three, and you have more words written than you did when you started.Continue reading “NaNoWriMo: You Can Do This!”
Last Shot at Plot (Get Ready, Get Set…)
Having already covered Plot Formulae back at the end of September, I’m hoping that those of you without a complete outline at this point have at least some ideas about how to get there. But this is the final stretch, the point where we all are scrabbling at the walls to try and claw outContinue reading “Last Shot at Plot (Get Ready, Get Set…)”
There’s No Place Like Home: Setting in Fiction
Many writers focus on their characters or their plot. Fantasy and science fiction writers will create fantastic and intricate settings that are shown off over the course of their books, like a fancy car they have to show all their friends. But where’s the middle ground? Setting is the stage for all of your plotContinue reading “There’s No Place Like Home: Setting in Fiction”
Who is your Character, and what does he do?
Taking a cue from Ahnold, this is only the first of many questions you need to ask of your characters. (Also, welcome back to the meaty article series for National Novel Preparation Month.) Some authors swear by the infinite detail system, in which you systemically and categorically (but perhaps arbitrarily) write down every possible detailContinue reading “Who is your Character, and what does he do?”
Countdown to NaNoWriMo!
We’ve reached October, and we can all count the days until November and National Novel Writing Month roll around! (I searched for an appropriately excited-scared gif for this blog post, but I just couldn’t find one thrilled enough.) So! How goes your planning for NaNoWriMo? Hopefully you’ve decided on a premise from however many ideasContinue reading “Countdown to NaNoWriMo!”
Pretty Please, Pick a Plot!
By which I mean, write down your plot outline before you start writing. “But I’m a panster! I don’t outline!” Tell you a secret? So am I. Doesn’t matter. The reason you should outline is because November is a hectic month for pretty much everyone – I have a theory that’s precisely why we doContinue reading “Pretty Please, Pick a Plot!”
Ideas and Conceptualization
So far this month I’ve discussed fiction genres and narration with an eye toward helping those planning on writing during National Novel Writing Month. It can be handy to start big and work inward, so the tasks so far have only been general. This week we start getting serious. This is a big entry, so take it in stages! I’ve given suggestions for starting to brainstorm on characters, setting, and plot, but I’ll be getting into them in more detail in coming weeks, so if you don’t have everything you may need yet, that’s okay. We’ll get there. The goal this week is to start distilling ideas you have into a more focused concept.
Point of View and Narration
As you work on brainstorming story ideas for this week – NaNo Prep 101 has some exercises that might help if you’re stuck – I’d like you to consciously think about how you plan to narrate the story, and from whose perspective. I bring this up because while ghostwriting romance, I’ve been reading more romanceContinue reading “Point of View and Narration”
Marie Efromson 