Can you hear it? Take your hands off your keyboards for moment and listen … that’s the sound of thousands of writers muttering to themselves, “It is contest time again … contest time …” Think MBT Frasier. ACFW Genesis. And the hundreds of other writing contests sponsored by other writing groups and blogs. Writers are zeroing in on hooks. Heroines. Heroes. Villains. Dialogue. Storyworld. But today I’m fast-forwarding to that final draft, that last bit of polish and shine. (Don’t you wish it were possible?) When you run your editorial fingers through your manuscript one last time, do you even consider fine-tuning your mechanics? Most writing contests have a category rating your spelling, punctuation and grammar skills. And even if mechanics isn’t an actual category, submitting a contest entry without typos, […]
Read the RestArchive | January, 2012
Quick Skills Class: Discover your Story Question to give your story power
Are you finished with your book but can’t quickly articulate what it’s about? You know it’s a great story, but it falls flat as you struggle to find the right words? Maybe you need to hone your Storyquestion. The Story Question is the conscious, or subconscious question that drives your character – and reader – through the book. It’s the truth they are seeking to find. Or it could be the truth they will accidentally discover. Whatever it is, it’s personal, and something that readers themselves want answers to. Every book, movie, short story – and non-fiction book, for that matter, has a question, however subtle. And, it’s the stories that ask riveting questions through the circumstances of their characters that linger with us. Consider Of Mice and Men. A haunting […]
Read the RestTruth or Dare: Getting Started – Cultivating your story spark with a Story Question
Snow graced our little hamlet, lacy upon the rocks of our town’s shoreline, evidence of the blizzard over the weekend. A perfect opportunity to huddle into my arm chair and get some writing done. Although wedged into rewrites of a story, I pryed myself out to plow my way into town to meet with Sally, the aspiring writer I promised to mentor. I hoped she’d taken my dare to dig deep into her life and interests to find a story spark. I probably should have told her to start an idea file – I’d recently discovered Evernote as a way to capture all my wandering thoughts and story ideas. She found me lost in the tangle of my rewrite thoughts, nursing a skinny vanilla latte. “Hey Sally,” I said as […]
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Commitment: The Key to a Successful Year Part Two: Give Yourself a Jump Start
I get it. The holidays are history and the now the visions of sugar plums wiggle on our hips. The decorations and trees come down and the excitement of the season waddles to the back of our memory. We’re surrounded by ending and, because of that, many writers pull over and park, not remembering to pick up a pen until the spring thaw. Right now—yes, today—determines how successful you will be at reaching your writing goals in 2012. What you do right after you read this will set in motion the wheels that will lead you either on a journey of success and fulfillment, or on the road to nowhere you’d ever want to be. You’re in the driver’s seat. It’s all up to you. Perhaps you feel sluggish from […]
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