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Here’s another creative writing prompt for your 750 words, a challenge to write 750 words each day in January to better Think Like a Writer. The next three days of Thinking Like a Writer are all connected and I’ll explain it here, then just remind you of the prompts for the next two days. When [...]
Do you need to get your gripes out? 750Words.com bills itself as “Private, unfiltered, spontaneous, daily.” One way that I use the 750 Words to think like a writer is to get rid of all the negative un-writerly thoughts. Yes, I gripe. I complain. I #@$#($*#(*(. Yes, indeed, it is cathartic to do this in [...]
Here’s another creative writing prompt for your 750 words, a challenge to write 750 words each day in January to better Think Like a Writer. Today, you want to think about creating symbolism in a short piece. This can be powerful stuff in a novel, a short story or even an essay. You want to [...]
Grinch Tips on Character Stop that! You’re too nice to your characters. The Grinch is despicable and you know it. Did you create nice, wonderful characters? Too bad for you! No one will read it. Take a page from Dr. Seuss. Be nasty when you create characters. Try different physical descriptions, motivations, typical ways of [...]
For the seventh year, Fiction Notes offers writing tips from popular personalities of the season. Tomorrow, the Grinch joins the lineup, with Top 5 Writing Tips from the Grinch (link will work on Friday, Nov. 25). Top Writing Tips from Rudolph, Santa, Frosty, Gingerbread Man, 12 Days of Christmas, and the 3 Kings Santa’s Top [...]
Tone is the overall feel of a story. Does this sound depressed, joyful, or hopeful? Beyond that, though, tone can determine the audience for your story. One of the main differences between a middle grade and YA, or a YA and an adult story, is the tone of the piece. Tone reflects the author’s attitude [...]
I am thinking about doing NaNoWriMo this year, joining with thousands of others in trying to write 50,000 words–a novel–during the month of November. You can’t count any words written before November 1, but I know I can’t do this if I don’t work on a plot before the mad rush officially begins. So far, [...]
Here’s a question from a reader: Is it ok to use dialogue to tell the main character about the fantasy world she just entered via her sidekick who lives there? I’m not sure how else to do it. Is there such a thing as too much dialogue? Thanks for the question! Where to Include Exposition [...]
Debut Novel: Spreadsheets Used for Plotting and Revising a Novel Introduced first in 2007, debut children’s authors have formed a cooperative effort to market their books. I featured Revision Stories from the Classes of 2k8 and 2k9 and this feature returns this year with the Class of 2k11. Class of 2008 Class of 2009 MORE [...]
I am working on a novel revision for an editor and I expect to turn it in by Monday. But today, as I was reading through one last time to polish everything up–oh, my gosh!–there’s still so much work to do. Last Minute Revisions At this point, it’s not major structural changes or big plot [...]
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