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You Don’t Have To Do It Alone – Brainstorming Help!

By on July 22, 2014 in Alena Tauriainen, Brainstorming Strategies and Tips, Encourage Me!, Next Step on the Writing Journey, Plotting, Tricks, Writer's life

As writer’s we are constantly learning new things to improve our craft. That being said, brainstorming is one of the harder aspects of the writing journey for me. It’s amazing, I can help other writers with plotting but when it comes to mine, I get stuck. I was astounded (and greatly relieved) to find out I could get help.

Last week I met with my craft buddies and we had a fantastic time brainstorming. Not only did we flesh out our next novel but Gabrielle Meyer was an awesome hostess. She planned the schedule and created the perfect atmosphere of brainstorming and relaxing. For the most part, we worked in the mornings and played in the afternoons. Listen, if I didn’t love where I lived, I would move to Little Falls Minnesota. Thank you Gabrielle!

If you want to brainstorm with a group, here are a few tips.

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Conversations: How to start your Scene

By on November 5, 2012 in 4. Writer’s Life, Inspiration and Life Coaching, 6. Search by Series:, b. Building a Scene, How do I start my Scene?, Managing the Muddle (keeping your story moving!), Susan May Warren, Tricks, Truth or Dare: Conversations with an aspiring novelist

“How is your NaNoWriMo manuscript going?” I set my coffee down at the table where Sally sat waiting for me, drinking coffee and eating a cookie. A light frost tipped the grass outside, the lake frothy along the rocky shoreline. “I think my brain is shutting down. I’ve written about two thousand words a day, but I am running out of ideas on how to start my scene.” Sally broke off a piece of her monster cookie, the fresh-baked smell enough to make me wish I hadn’t eaten breakfast. “Have you done your scene preparation?  Figured out Layer One: what kind of scene it is, and the 5 Ws’?” “Oh, that’s the easy part. And Layer Two isn’t so hard either. Creating Tension is easy once you understand the equation: […]

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Drop and Give Me Twenty! Okay, One.

By on February 23, 2012 in Encourage Me!, Rachel Hauck, Tricks, Writer's life, Writing Life Coaching

All right, writers. I’m going to say a word most of you will hate: exercise. Yeah, I know, the excuses are long and many. “I hate it.” “I don’t have time for it.” “It’s too cold.” “It’s too hot.” “My legs hurt. My arms…” “I sprained my eyelashes.” Okay, I get it. But as writers, we need to take care of our bodies as much as our hearts and minds. Sitting all day is hard on writer. A few years ago I realized my entire body hurt. I was starting to think I was going to have to life with pain in my shoulders, hips and back the rest of my writing life. While I wasn’t happy about it, I wasn’t sure what to do. Other than hot baths. And […]

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Act 2: How to keep the Momentum Going between chapters?

By on October 31, 2011 in Chapter 5, How to write a Suspense, Limelight – Sample Novel, Managing the Muddle (keeping your story moving!), Susan May Warren, Suspense, Tricks, Writing your Suspense Chapters

Would you like a trick to keep the momentum going between chapters? One of my biggest frustrations in writing a novel is that I can’t write it all in one sitting.  Seriously.  I’ve tried.  I once wrote a novel in 10 days.  But even then, I had to sleep, eat…maybe have a conversation with the other people in the house.  Still, it was the closest thing to being able to simply step into the story and download it from my brain.  I love being able to write a novel in a concentrated amount of time because the storyline is never far from me and while it’s exhausting, the story always seems to emerge with fewer jolts in the plot. However, like most authors, I have a busy schedule filled with […]

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