Skin (Hero, book 2)
Ok, so, I chucked out the 15k words I’d written for book 2. Again. I think this is the 4th time I’ve changed the entire plot (well, not the entire plot, just the specifics), but, trust me, this storyline is going to […]
Writing loglines
Right under ‘title’ on Blake Snyder’s Beat Sheet, there’s a little box called ‘tag line’ (but should really be called ‘logline’), which, frankly, used to scare the whatsits out of me. What’s a logline? A logline is your short story, […]
Phase drafting and writing faster
Writing faster than greased lightning is one of the holy grails of writing, or, at least, it is in my world. The thought of being able to whip out a decent first draft in under two months makes me giddy, let […]
Blake Snyder's Beat Sheet and Scrivener
About the same time I revisted the BS2, Jami Gold posted an excellent article about using beat sheets with Scrivener. What I liked most about the article was the idea of using the target word count for individual chapters and […]
Advice for writers staring out
I recently received an email from a writer who’s just starting out, and they wanted to know if I could give them any advice. It’s the first time anyone has asked me for writing advice, and I was very flattered. […]
Blake Synder's Beat Sheet, with template
Best for those outling a new work. What’s awesome about it The word count for each beat What’s not-so-awesome It’s daunting, especially when your manuscript is half-written No capacity to outline subplots The awesome When I first came across Blake […]
A world-building template for when you're on the go
Patricia C. Wrede’s Fantasy World-building questions are great, and the World-building Leviathan is equally awesome, but there are times when they just don’t hit the spot. Like, when you’re halfway (or more) into your novel and you need to sort […]
Battling personal demons with a notebook
Determining your writing process isn’t just about brainstorming and planning, it’s also about conquering the personal demons that are holding you back. For me, writing has been as much about personal growth as it has been about learning the correct […]
Exploring the Snowflake method
The Snowflake method is the brainchild of Randy Ingermanson. Freely available online, it’s one of the first methods/writing processes that I started playing around with. It’s great for plotters, although pantsers might like to give it a pass, since it’s heavy on […]
Exploring the writing process
If you’re like me, you’ve probably spent time trying to figure out the how to write a book. Not just the putting pen to paper bit, but the step-by-step process of planing, outlining and drafting. You’ve probably read books with […]