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October Insights
“The best discoveries always happened to the people who weren’t looking for it. Columbus and America. Pinzon, who stumbled on Brazil while looking for the West Indies. Stanley happening on Victoria Falls. And you. Amy Curry, when I was least expecting her.” Roger Sullivan. Morgan Matson – Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour I was very excited to discover that Morgan Matson had a new contemporary novel out. Her stories are always a lot of fun and this one promises more of the same. So far, I am loving it. I’m at the part where the two theatre friends have just left for their night in the big city so I…
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What’s in a Title?
In my work-in-progress, I seem to be hesitant to give my manuscript even a working title. Why is that? I always thought that the title needed to say something significant about he story. The essence of the plot in a few words. Anne of Green Gables, follows the life of the orphan, Anne, from the time she arrived at Green Gables, for example. I picked Winds of L’Acadie, for my first novel because, through the magic of the porcupine quill box Sarah found at her Grandparent’s house, winds transported her to Nova Scotia at the time when the Acadians were about to be deported from their homes. Not the most…
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2020, Fiction, How To Write A Novel: Step by Step, The Writing Life, Writing prompts, Writing quotes
HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL: The Beginning
The WRITER’S OATH I promise solemnly: 1. to write as often and as much as I can, 2. to respect my writing self and 3. to nurture the writing of others. I accept these responsibilities and shall honour them always. Gail Carson Levine – Writing Magic Starting a novel is a daunting task. If you have been following the How To Write a Novel series, you’ll know that we have done some preliminary work with ideas and characters, and outlines. But at some point, you need to begin actually crafting this work that will be at least a couple of hundred pages long. So, let’s get started! At the top…
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What About That Other Character?
“THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT: YOU SIT DOWN AT THE KEYBOARD AND YOU PUT ONE WORD AFTER ANOTHER UNTIL IT’S DONE. IT’S THAT EASY, AND THAT HARD.” Neil Gaiman I have to admit I love Neil Gaiman’s writing and what he has to say about writing. My favourite children’s book, written, interestingly enough from the Dad’s point of view, is Fortunately the Milk. If you haven’t read it, you really should. It’s short, and a hilarious story for all age groups. Having said that, yesterday’s post, How To Get Your Character Out of the Room, has some great tips that you might want to check out, if you missed…
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HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL: Step by Step
Getting Your Character Out of the Room “I do believe that characters in novels belong to their writers and their readers pretty equally. I’ve learned a lot of things about the characters I write from people who read about them. Readers expand them in ways I don’t think of and take them to places I can’t go.“ Anne Brashares How do I get my character out of the room?” This is the dilema that caught me completely off-guard and threw me into a bout of writer’s block when I first began to write my novel. The situation is not nearly as scary if you have a few scenes already crafted, but still,…