I love summers in the southeastern United States. Picnics, baseball, sliding down slick rocks in the river. And there are always the parades. Kicking off with Memorial Day, it seems summer is packed with an endless supply of them. Summer in the south also brings storms. Most any afternoon, you can look to the horizon and see some sort of storm brewing. And, most likely, it’s right in the middle of your parade route. Just like parades and storms sort of go hand in hand, so do summers and your manuscript. Your best laid plans for hammering out word count can easily wind up a soggy mess. So what is a diligent author to do? Here are just a few things you could do: 1) Buy an umbrella. Ok, maybe […]
Read the RestTag Archives | writing
Fairytale Code: Happily Ever After
At long last, I’m on the other wide of a rewrite deadline and I can conclude our fairytale code series. The ending is simple. Happy. A fairytale like story, a romance, a sisterhood, even a thriller has to end with some level of happiness and satisfaction. What do we really learn from fairytale endings? The boy gets the girl. The dragon is slayed. The castle is stormed. Evil is defeated. Good wins. Even in the most thrill driven stories, these elements must take place for a solid story ending and wrap up. Cinderella is the classic happy ending. In the Disney version, Cindy and Prince marry because “the shoe fit” and boy, let’s not go down that symbolic rabbit trail, but her dreams came true because she believed. In Snow […]
Read the RestSizzling Summer Success, Part 3: Keep Your Story Hydrated
I’m sure you would never think of walking across the desert in June without taking water, right? Of course not. You know that water is critical to your survival. And, you have to put it back into your body at the same rate that you lose it or you’ll quickly find yourself in trouble. It’s the same with your story. You must infuse it with whatever keeps it alive and healthy. Just like running a marathon, there is a key to proper hydration of your story. Here are some things you need to remember: Write your story on a regular schedule. When I run, I drink every ten minutes. That way I don’t get dehydrated. Just as it is impossible to recover from dehydration while on the run, your story […]
Read the RestDon’t Give Up Your Writing Dream
Hi all, You know, book therapy is every bit about staying with your writing as it is teaching the craft. I’ve asked MBT member and retreat faithful, Patricia Bradley, to share her writing journey and inspire us all! — Rachel **** Do you ever think about giving up on your writing dream? When I was 35 years old, I had these people who came and lived in my head. At first I didn’t know what to do with them, but since I’ve always had trouble sleeping, it was kind of nice to have someone to keep me entertained in the wee hours of the morning. Except, they weren’t content to entertain me. They wanted their story told. Problem? I didn’t know how to tell their story. So I bought a how-to […]
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