Storycraft: Scene and Sequel
::crawls up from dark hole in the earth with pens and candy wrappers sticking out of the snarl of her hair:: ::blinks:: Helloooooooooo! I fell off a bit of a cliff with this blog the last couple of months, but that’s because I was finishing Veil of Thorns. The first draft is officially DONE! I’m letting it simmer for a bit before I dive into revisions, and concurrently I’ll be working on the SSS (super secret steampunk) project that I’m hoping to have ready in time for Pitch Wars. So, there is my mini writing update. Now let’s dig right in to this Writing Wednesday post!
Building a Character with MBTI
Creating characters that readers can connect with is the key to writing kingdom. Stories are all the same. Unique worlds, though numerous and sometimes extremely vivid, are all just variations on a theme. Characters are the only part of writing that can be truly unique and original. Characters sell the story and the world and can stay with us long after the riveting action and intriguing backdrop have faded from memory. So, how to write a unique and memorable character? Most of them don’t spring fully formed into a writer’s mind. It takes some effort to create a multi-dimensional made-up person! It’s definitely not as simple as giving them an…
Writing Wednesday – Pay it Forward
Congratulations to all NaNoWriMo finishers!! It’s been a couple of weeks, so hopefully the dust has settled and you have caught up on sleep and real life and everything you let slide while you were furiously typing away. And maybe you’re asking yourself, “Okay, I finished a book…now what?” Or maybe you’re a veteran and already working on rewrites. Either way, you would be crazy not to take me up on this.
Writing Wednesday: Trust the Process
Every Winter Solstice, I set an intention for the solar year to come. This year, my intention was balance, and so far so good, I think, but there’s been another lesson/struggle that keeps coming up along with it. What I’ve figured out, is if you want balance, what you really need is ACCEPTANCE and PATIENCE. You have to be able to accept things as they are right now, and even in the act of striving for better balance, you have to be patient with how it comes about.
Finding a Groove & The Compound Effect
March is just stomping right along for me. I’m on day 17 of my 21 day Fitness Challenge, and 10 working days away from a week in PARADISE. I can barely contain my excitement! As part of the challenge, we’ve been reading a self-improvement book as well. The Compound Effect, by Darren Hardy. It applies to the fitness challenge, but it’s been resonating with me more on a writing and publishing level. I don’t know why it never occurred to me before, but self-publishing is a form of entrepreneurship. Seriously – I know I’m trying to build a business and that I want to work for myself, I just always…