The Lonely Brainstormer

Searching for the Right Ideas
Brainstorming, created by advertising genius Alex Osborn, is meant to be a group activity, a way to encourage everyone to participate. It’s usually set up with rules that encourage ideas, even if they are wild, while discouraging any negative comments which might stem the flow of ideas. What it encourages is [...]

NaNoWriMo Lessons

NaNoWriMo and the Evolution of a Writer
Guest post by Beth Cato.
Follow her NaNoWriMo progress at her blog, Catch a Star if It Falls.
For years I dreamed of being a published writer, but I didn’t actually write anything. I had plenty of excuses – college, a full-time job, marriage – but I couldn’t stop that [...]

Nail Your Novel

Review of
Nail Your Novel by Roz Morris
British author and writing teacher Roz Morris has a new book out just in time to help you with that first draft of your new novel. You know, the one you’re going to write in November for National Novel Writing Month, better known as NaNoWriMo.
Hiccups in your [...]

format

Does Format change a story?
Format. Yes, it makes a difference. How you present information or how you present a story make a difference to the text. For example, I’ve been wanting to write

How to Use Scenes to Plot

Criteria for choosing scenes to include in your novel:

5 Resources for First Drafts of Novels

Need help on the first draft of your novel? Here are some great resources.

Planning or Outlining: Many revision techniques found here can also be invention techniques for those first drafts. As I’m working on my first draft of a new novel, I’m finding that many of the same techniques are helpful.
For example, [...]