Are you trying to write faster? Writing a scene outline might be exactly what you need. But what is a scene outline, and how you can create one that help direct your story while giving you creative freedom?
A scene outline can give your story plan focus and prevent burnout or confusion when actually writing your story.
In this article, you’ll learn how to create a scene list that gives your big story idea focus, which will help you not only write faster, but give you a higher chance of actually finishing your book—and having fun while you write it!
You might be thinking, “National Novel Writing Month is two months away. Why should I think about how to prepare for NaNoWriMo now?”
Completing the NaNoWriMo challenge is no small feat—it can take years to complete a novel, and yet those who step up for NaNoWriMo each year complete an entire first draft in just a month. This averages out to 1,667 words each day (you can download and print the official NaNoWriMo calendar here).
The official rules for NaNoWriMo state that writers are not permitted to start writing until November 1. But that doesn’t mean you have to just sit and wait. You can prepare for it!
Before the month of November, take advantage of the free time you have for some NaNoWriMo prep work.
By following these four ways, you can succeed (and have fun writing) when the time of year to meet your NaNoWriMo goals comes.
You’ve finally carved out a spare moment to write, you open up a blank document, and set your fingers on the keys. But then nothing comes. You check Facebook thinking maybe something there will be inspiring. No luck. You wonder if your muse is hiding under the stack of dirty dishes so you clean every bit of grime you can find and still come up empty. You’re at a loss for ideas and your writing time is dwindling quickly.
I often hear the same questions from writers, questions like, “How do I make a living as a writer?” or, “How do I write a bestselling book?”
These are the wrong questions, and that’s a huge problem because I believe the questions you ask yourself can change your mindset and how you approach your writing.
What are the right questions? In this article, I’m going to share the five essential questions every writer should ask themselves.
In July 2011, I accomplished what was at the time the third best thing I’d ever done in my life (after marrying my wife and writing my first book): I started a blog to share what I was learning about the writing craft.
It was called The Write Practice. My goal was to create a place where people could become better writers, finish their books, get published, and accomplish their writing goals.
Since then, over twenty-nine million people have visited The Write Practice. It has grown from just me working out of a coffee shop to a team of over twenty employees, contractors, and contributors.
Together we’ve helped over 7,000 people write books, get published, and accomplish their writing goals.
Why do we write? Non-fiction and fiction writing has been an instrumental way for people to connect to one another in the real world.
Stories are about change, and by reading and watching them we, ourselves, can change for the better.
But do people write for different reasons, and are some of those reasons more meaningful than others?
Are you sitting at your computer right now, possibly plunging through your first draft (or much later draft), and debating whether or not a writing career is the one for you?
Do you wonder if the written word is how you’ll make your mark on the world—and if it is, is a writing career what you want in life?
