by Emily Wenstrom |
Ahhhh the holidays. A wonderful time when we burn the rest of our vacation time and, suddenly, our schedules are wide open. Oh the writing we will do!
Except, oh yeah—the inevitable family visits, holiday parties, and travel time. Not to mention all those holiday TV specials you can’t seem to peel yourself away from (hey, no judgment here, I’m the queen of TV holiday specials).
Next thing you know, you’re shaking the New Year’s confetti off your dazed head and wondering where the heck all that “writing time” went.
by Emily Wenstrom |
As I work my way through round five of edits on my first fiction manuscript, I keep asking myself … am I there yet?
And I never quite seem to be. There’s always one more round of edits to address.
by Emily Wenstrom |
When writing first drafts, a common piece of advice is write fast—just get those ideas on the page so you can take a proper look at them before you start letting your editor start messing with them… Write fast, analyze later. NaNoWriMo is great for creating a structure to force this practice.
There’s some great reasoning behind this practice… but fast firsts aren’t for everyone.
by Emily Wenstrom |
There’s no doubt that NaNoWriMo rocks. Just thirty days of work in trade for a complete first draft? Awesome.
But that doesn’t mean NaNoWriMo is for everyone. To succeed requires the perfect storm of story, determination, temperament, and an open schedule. Cranking out 1,666 words a day (yes, I did the math) is not for everyone.
by Emily Wenstrom |
When writing a series (or even just a really long novel), at some point, the characters become known, their dynamics set, and readers can almost guess how characters will feel about a given plot twist before it happens. Fans go beyond love for characters and form deep connections … and expectations.
Some readers love to simply love their characters and enjoy their next adventure. But don’t discount the fun of killing your darlings to shake things up.
