As I type this, NaNoWriMo 2016 moves into its final hours. Some of you who participated have completed your word count and downloaded your winner’s certificate. Others are manically pounding the keyboard, determined to beat the midnight deadline. And many are nowhere near 50,000 words and have given up hope of flaunting a winner’s T-shirt. […]
National Novel Writing Month
NaNo Check – 50% Point
4 Reasons Writers Should Love October
Ahh, October. Cool nights perfect for sleeping, painting tapestries of rich color across the landscape. But that’s not why writers should love October. A chance to use our sharpest pens to carve out a few scary stories. Ghosts, werewolves, zombies, and ax murderers are waiting in your imagination. If horror isn’t your usual genre, give […]
Why Not Now?
“Why not now?” That’s the last sentence in a marketing proposal I just wrote for the local Friends of the Library. For them, getting the community involved takes more than forming a group and waiting for supporters to show up. For writers, getting a novel written, or a magazine article, or a memoir, takes more […]
NaNoWriMo: Where One Idea Generates Dozens More
Five days into National Novel Writing Month, are you still enthusiastic and fired up? Are the words flowing fast and furious? I hope so. When you reach today’s word-count goal and get a chance to breathe, I invite you to sit back and listen to what else is going on in your brain. I’ve noticed […]
NaNoWriMo: 6 Ways to Make Sure You Finish
It’s only two days until National Novel Writing Month kicks off around the globe. By now you’ve done everything you can to prepare, haven’t you? And you’ve created a story outline or maybe just noodled around with your characters and some plot points to get an idea of what will happen in your novel. If […]
NaNoWriMo Early Warning Alert: 6 Ways to Prepare for Success
When the calendar flipped over to a new month in the middle of the night few of us were awake and thinking about the dwindling number of days until National Novel Writing Month takes over our lives. But there are five things we can be doing now so we’re refreshed, organized, and ready to write at […]
6 Ways to Plan 50,000 Words
November will be here before you know it, along with an opportunity to hunker down and write the first draft of something new and exciting. And there’s still time to plan for success in reaching a 50,000 word goal within thirty days. Yes, I’m talking about the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) challenge. Does the […]
When Push Comes to Shove
Yes, there will be moments like these, my friend. When it becomes a struggle to rip thoughts from the maw of your seething brain and forge them in flame, shaping them into words with meaning. There will be days it becomes an insurmountable challenge to excavate ideas from the depths of your psyche and build […]
Writing in Your Perfect Time
There are innumerable opinions on the perfect time to write. Some say it’s best to rise early in the morning and crank out a few pages before the world and your family wakes. There are those who write in the middle of the day, sneaking moments during their lunch break, or the baby’s nap to add […]