Category: discovery draft
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Epiphanies in Writing, Part 1: Planning Your Novel
Currently I am writing a series of short novels part of a series called CONSORTIUM. One epiphany I learned a long time ago was that no two writers use the same method of getting their story down on paper. And something else: A writer may not even use the same method two times in a…
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The Furious Five Hundred
It’s a busy week for me for several reasons, one of which my house is being remodeled and every room is in disarray. I have no place to sit in my own home. Despite that, I’ve been camping out at the coffee shop for the past few days and I’m getting work done. I’m using…
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Serendipity and the writing process
I am astounded when, during the early stages of outlining and drafting a novel, two unrelated parts of my story suddenly fit together and make it stronger, more logical. It’s almost like, “Why didn’t I see that before?” View my Consortium SF Series at Amazon. My science fiction book OMNIORB is available through Amazon and…
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What are the most important scenes in a novel?
To overcome feeling overwhelmed by finishing your novel, a writer might want to keep these writing principles in mind: She doesn’t have to write chronologically. She can write her most important scenes first and then fill in the blanks. Now, if she has planned your novel with some kind of outline, then these principles become even easier.…
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The Final Quarter
I am down to the last 25% of the current draft of my novel which I’m now calling Ziggurat Reach. Whether that is a working title or a final title, I don’t know. I know what is happening in the last part of my novel. I am building up to the story’s climax and all…
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Books on writing I read in 2015
Every year I try and read a couple of books on the writing craft. I know that’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but, honestly, I love reading stuff on how to write fiction. Here is what I read in 2015: Planning a Novel, Script or Memoir by Hank Quense Quense offers practical tips on how…
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What I’m learning as I write my novel, part 2
In my previous blog entry, I began listing some things I’m learning as I write my current novel. Here are some more: Let the story unfold like a snowflake. When writing the discovery draft of a novel, I like to use the snowflake method. This is a method created by writer Randy Ingermanson. I mentioned…
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What I’m learning as I write my novel
When I say I’ve written six novels, this is what I really mean: I’ve written the rough draft of six novels. Sure I like to say “I’ve written six novels” to try to impress people, but if anyone would read these “novels”, he would read for five minutes, stick out his tongue, squinch up his…
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The Furious Five Hundred
It’s a busy week for me for several reasons, one of which my house is being remodeled and every room is in disarray. I have no place to sit in my own home. Despite that, I’ve been camping out at the coffee shop for the past few days and I’m getting work done. I’m using…