Archive | October, 2013

Rachel Hauck, Susan May Warren, My Book Therapy

Ready, Set, Go! NaNoWriMo

By on October 31, 2013 in Book Therapist, Rachel Hauck

Wow, it’s time for National November Writers Month!

Congratulations to those who are participating for the first time. Or the fifth or sixth time!

I’m in. I’ve a deadline February 1 and I need to BIC it. (Butt-in-Chair)

So, what can you do to help your success?

1. Make a plan. What are you going to do with your time? How, when and where are you going to write? Do you need help? Do you need compliance from your spouse, your family, your friends? Work it out!
2. Plan your story. Read this post to get the core basics of planning a story. Not outlining, but planning! It’s very key to use your time wisely and to get some depth to your story.
3. Determination. Just determine this is a go for it month. You will get up early. You will shut off the TV at night. Say “No” to all you can.
4. Get your kids on board. Make them a part of mom/dad’s goal. Give rewards for them helping you achieve your goal. God is a rewarder. Parents should be too.
5. Do not edit. Meaning, do not go back and rewrite or start over. If you change setting, names, from an historical to a contemporary, do NOT go back. Just keep pressing on.
6. Do not be critical. If you have was in every sentence. so what. YOU CAN FIX IT. But get those words on the page.
7. Okay… all that being said, do pause before each session to consider where you’re going. Do pause to try to the best sentence you can.
8. Set a word count. How much do you need to write each day to make 50K. Figure out the days you can’t write and calculate how much you need to get down at each session.
9. Pray. Ask the Lord for wisdom. Daniel 1:17.
10. And Go!! Participate int he challenge. Log your word count. Press on when you’re tired. Do it.

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Is Editing Ever A Bad Thing?

By on October 30, 2013 in Author Mistakes, Editing Basics

Hi Everyone,

I’m back with two of my favorite editors, Beth K. Vogt and Edie Melson!

So Beth (BKV) and Edie (EGM), here is the first question from our readers:

How much change is too much macro editing? Is editing ever a bad thing?

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Susie May on Deep POV!

By on October 28, 2013 in b. Building a Scene, How do I write the Character Change Journey?, What POV do I write in?

Are you getting ready to write NaNoWriMo and wondering just what POV or voice to write it in? Try Deep POV! I love how Deep POV gets a reader into the skin of the characters and helps them feel the story.

Here’s how it works:

Have you ever watched the television show Fear Factor? It’s a show where people are challenged to do “scary” things like eat a live spider or bungee jump, for charity. It’s supposed to elicit people’s deepest fears and make them overcome them. I watch it and think, “Never. Not even for charity.” However, do I feel my throat closing, that panic clenching my gut, my legs telling me to run? No. I just think – wow, they are idiots.

Consider, however, Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. We watch with our hands over our eyes, our heart in our throats, experiencing true fear.

This is the difference between Standard 3rd person POV and Deep 3rd person POV. One watches from a distance, the other engages us in the fear.

Why write Deep POV?

A great book is made up of the emotional highs and lows of the POV characters. We want to feel what the character feels, ride their journey with them and possibly learn with them. A great story makes us ache with the character, and eventually, engage with their choices, their struggles with values and their epiphany. Think about this – what is going to glue your reader to the page more – grappling with the black moment/life-changing decisions with the character, or to view it from a distance? Deep POV is illuminating, empowering, it helps us understand the point of the story.

Think of the difference between Deep POV and Standard Third Person as the difference between watching the action from the outside, as if walking beside the character (Fear Factor) and being inside the body and mind of the character. (Psycho)

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When Things Don’t Go According to Plan

By on October 26, 2013 in 4. Writer’s Life, Inspiration and Life Coaching, Encourage Me!, Life Coaching, Nurturing Creativity, Nurturing the Soul, Reba Hoffman, Writer's life, Writing Life, Writing Life Coaching

If all writers did was write, there would be no problem. You’d get up in the morning. Breakfast would somehow be waiting. No need to get the kids off to school. That was taken care of. Just grab that cuppa Joe, sit down with your characters and create all manner of amazing prose. You wouldn’t have to worry about the phone interrupting your plot because it just wouldn’t ring. After all, you just write. Oh, and that boss you’re not too happy with? He wouldn’t exist. No social media, no to-do list. Sounds like a writer’s dream doesn’t it? Well, there are just two tiny problems with that:   1) It ain’t gonna happen. 2) You’d have no life experiences to draw from. What would you write about? When things […]

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