Category: writing
-
Friday’s Findings: The Story on Two Levels
I believe I’ve quoted this fiction writing axiom before, but Terry Pratchett said, “The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.” With this year’s NaNoWriMo, I’m finding out how true this is. I’m feeling exactly what he was talking about. I spent September and October prepping my story. I made up characters. I…
-
Friday’s Findings: Writers Retreat
This weekend, I’m having a writer’s retreat. I’m the only one attending. Two of my friends are going on their 2nd honeymoon and asked me if I’d like to watch their cat and their awesome house. How is it awesome? First of all, it’s gorgeous. Secondly, it’s in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by forest…
-
NaNo Update
Just a quick update on my NaNoWriMo project. Over the weekend I reached 30k words, which was my goal. I’m pleased with how it’s going, but, of course, NaNo is about just getting it down on paper (or on the computer). Some things going well: I’ve written something for every scene in the story. Sometimes…
-
Friday’s Findings
I’m trying something new this year for NaNoWriMo. I’m jumping around. Not up and down in my chair, but around the manuscript. Usually, I write in a linear fashion. I start at the beginning and write the scenes in order. This year I’ve decided to skip around my WIP. Why am I trying this? The…
-
This Year: Why My NaNoWriMo Is Going So … Great
Nanowrimo first week update: Taking a short break from writing my NaNoWriMo project for an update and access how I’m feeling. Overall, I feel like this year’s NaNo is going fantastic. I would have to say it’s the best NaNo experience I’ve had, and I’ve been doing it since 2008. Why is it going so…
-
Friday’s Findings
My first week of NaNoWriMo 2021 has gone fantastic. It’s day four and I’m already past 10,000 words. I’ve had some years of NaNo in which I just wasn’t into it, but this year I’m on fire. I think it’s because I did some planning. I created an outline with a summary of scenes, and…
-
NaNoWriMo: I’m Not Going to Kick Myself If I Don’t
During November, I need to work my regular job. So how am I going to get NaNoWriMo done? I also need to exercise. I also need to keep my house clean. I also need to run errands. And so on… Judging from my experience in past NaNoWriMos, keeping up with my word count seemed to…
-
NaNoWriMo 2021: It’s Not Too Late
On the morning of October 31, 2008, I lay in bed listening to NPR. I don’t know what show was on or who was talking, but the subject was National Novel Writing Month. Write 50,000 words in one month? Impossible. It started the next day. For some reason, I decided to go for it. I…
-
She Narrowed Her Eyes: Emotions into Body Language
One thing I look for when writing a characters emotions is body language. How does anger translate in a person’s expression, posture and movement? How does shock? How should a writer transcribe what their characters feel into tangible body language? Let’s break it down. First, I want to thank author K. M. Weiland for introducing…
Andrew M. Friday 