Category: fiction writing

  • Camp NaNoWriMo Update #5

    Camp NaNoWriMo Update #5

    Camp NaNoWriMo for April 2022 is over. Did I reach my goals? Yes and no. No, I did not reach my word goal of 15,000 words. I got to 11,600 words. And I’m happy with that. I had a blast discovering more about my story (a better goal than word count). I learned more about…

  • Friday’s Findings: How Exactly Do the Atomic Habits Help Writers?

    Friday’s Findings: How Exactly Do the Atomic Habits Help Writers?

    In my previous post, I mentioned I found James Clear’s book Atomic Habits to be helpful for writers. I didn’t, however, mention specifically how I found it helpful. While I could probably list a dozen ways the book provided ways to incorporate the writing discipline into my life, I’m just going to list four for…

  • Camp NanoWriMo Update #4

    Camp NanoWriMo Update #4

    I passed up 10,000 words. Only 5,000 to go. I’m fleshing out the last ten or so scenes of my WIP I did for my 2019 NaNoWriMo project by just writing dialogue. I’m using what I call “layering” in the narrative elements: Dialogue Action Reaction/Internal Thought Emotions/voice cues, facial expressions, body language, visceral reactions Senses/Description…

  • Camp NaNoWriMo Update #3

    Camp NaNoWriMo Update #3

    I’m wearing my Duncan Idaho hoodie to keep me inspired while I write.:) Well I gave in and lowered my Camp NaNoWriMo goal from 25,000 words to 15,000 words. Why did I do that? I’ve decided to enjoy my weekend writing as well as doing other things—like watching the Batman on HBO Max instead of…

  • Camp NaNoWriMo Update #2

    Camp NaNoWriMo Update #2

    So I’m at 8,300 words so far. I have a week to reach my goal of 25,000. But to be honest, my goals can’t be measured in words. My first goal–to complete a draft of my novella Traption–has been accomplished. My second goal–to finish the last several chapters of my novel, Oblivion’s Hope–is well on…

  • Friday’s Findings: Fandom.com

    Friday’s Findings: Fandom.com

    I’ve been using Fandom.com (formerly known as Wikia.com) to help me in my reading and writing endeavors. Fandom is a wiki hosting service which hosts wikis on entertainment and pop culture, such as books, games, movies, television and more. I find Fandom helpful in my reading in several ways. First, if I’ve been reading a…

  • Friday’s Findings: Doing Voice Journals

    Friday’s Findings: Doing Voice Journals

    This week I’ve been doing voice journals for my characters as I reach the midpoint of Camp NaNoWriMo. I first read about this practice in James Scott Bell’s The Art of War for Writers. This week I’ve read a few online articles on the subject. I’ve capsulated the main concepts of doing voice journals for…

  • CampNaNoWriMo Update #1

    CampNaNoWriMo Update #1

    Reached one of my goals for Camp NaNoWriMo: completed a draft of my novella; spending the rest of the month working on my novel, or one of them at least. I’m going to do voice journals for my characters and write a few summaries of unfinished scenes. All this goes toward my word count. I’m…

  • Good Scene, Bad Scene

    Good Scene, Bad Scene

    Scenes are the building blocks of fiction writing. I came across this great infographic on evaluating a scene’s worthiness. Editor Ellen Brock created this wonderful chart and talks about it in this video. Check out her YouTube and her website for more great writing advice. Photo by Francesco Ungaro