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Tag Archives: Prewriting

On Revision: Follow Through

Tweet This week we’re talking about what comes after NaNoWriMo. We’re talking about looking ahead. We’re talking about finishing a book and revising a book and being a writer. That’s three different processes, but all of them share the same three core, critical steps: Write. Take stock. Follow through. November made you write. Yesterday I […]

NaNoWriMo Update, Part 4

I’ve been writing about zombies, so the details are gory. And I know some of my darlingest inklings don’t care to read about pus, blood, and guts. So all you need to know is that I’ve had a fairly miserable writing week.
But. Friday and Saturday, I did something that I knew I needed to do and that a conversation with the writing group reinforced to me that I needed to do…

On Distraction: My 3-for-1 Deal

Tweet I’m a big believer in prewriting. I design my stories, building them with care before I even start writing. Somebody once said even the best battle plan only lasts until the first shot is fired (or something to that effect). It certainly applies to writing. Stories change in the telling. It’s just part of […]

On Persistence: Planning Ahead

Tweet Yesterday we talked about the slow process of writing a book in a hurry. About achieving something great six months from now by doing something pathetic and tedious today. National Novel Writing Month is a crash course in precisely that process. It’s something on the order of 20+ days of pathetic and tedious, crammed […]

On Inspiration: Making the Most of Week One

Tweet Yesterday I talked about some of the pitfalls of chasing inspiration, and the importance of finishing projects. That might seem like a premature topic, less than a week into a month-long marathon, but Week One is the foundation or your noveling month. That’s why I was thanking Courtney yesterday for her comments on Wednesday. […]

On Inspiration: Gookstuhgraw!

Tweet I’m quite lucky to be surrounded by the kind of creative talent I am, and quite conniving to get all that talent working on my behalf. That’s something I think (and am told) fairly often, but in this case it’s because of yesterday’s guest post. With no prompting whatsoever, Courtney wrote a perfect introduction […]

NaNoWriMo Update, Part 1

In which pre-writing is my BFF 4-EVAH.

On Scene Lists: What Your Story Needs

Tweet We’ve been talking about long synopses and scene lists this week. Yesterday I went into some detail on what scene lists are for. Today I want to tell you how to write one. It shouldn’t be hard, but it’s definitely going to take some time and thought. So let’s get started! Meat on the […]

On Scene Lists: Building a Novel

Tweet This week, your big NaNoWriMo prewriting assignment is to develop a long synopsis, or scene list.  I’ve talked before about writing a plot synopsis (and all its various forms), and tucked in there is a brief description of a scene list: A scene list is primarily useful as a prewriting or editing tool. It […]

On Scene Lists: Complications

Tweet As my sister so kindly pointed out, I’ve fallen a bit behind on the blog posts lately. And that’s after cutting my weekly commitment by half. I still mostly blame schoolwork, but that’s really just my temporary excuse. Give me a week, and I’ll be able to blame NaNoWriMo for a full month. After […]