Sometimes, all you can do is close down your old documents, put away your old notes, and start again. This is true of writing and of life. There are times when you need a change of scenery. Or a place where no one knows you or your history. Then there are times when everything needs…
Tag: Manuscript
Welcome to NaNoWriMo 2017
There is just one day to the start of NaNoWriMo 2017 and while I won’t be participating this year (I am currently mid-manuscript), I thought I’d share a few things I learnt last year. Work with your most developed story idea. This might seem obvious, but it can be tempting to begin writing the story…
Fictional research – yes, it does exist
All fiction, regardless of genre, requires some research. This may be choosing a spot in the middle of the Pacific to create your own island nation, discovering if it’s physically possible for a plane to fly five times the speed of sound, or finding a common Scottish name for your hero. There might be small…
The writing retreat
I am halfway through my week long writing retreat and I have to say that so far, this works for me. The days a so long that I feel like I’ve already overextended my stay and my worries seemed to have fallen- out of the car somewhere along the drive here. Each day, I stay…
WOW! I want to write a book!
When I tell people that I am writing a book, I get one of three standard responses; 1) I could never do that, 2) Do I have a great story idea for you? Or 3) Oh, wow! I’ve always wanted to do that. The people in the first category are probably the smart ones…
Meeting your protagonist
There are countless articles and writing courses that tell you to know you main characters before you start writing. Not just what they will do throughout the manuscript, but why they do those things. What is their motivation, history, personality? The list goes on. The need to know your character like you would a friend…
Knowing what is a short story and what is a novel
A trouble I sometimes have in sorting out my various story ideas is; what is a short story, and what can support the length of a novel? Unfortunately, there is no hard a fast rule. Most stories can go either way, but will lean more to one side or the other. If you are having…
When Travellers Stay Still
I recently went to Tasmania. I finally made it down south and rented a car to drive around much of the state. It was a busy trip, with the car being loaded most mornings, a different bed each night and the days full of as many adventures as possible. It was exactly how I used…
Writer’s Block
At my work Christmas party last year, a friend asked me how I had gone in NaNoWriMo. I explained that the story was underdeveloped and so I had not been able to advance it as much as possible, and that there were some difficult parts in it (the two main characters were both song writers…
Researching fantasy
I’ve have recently started research for my next manuscript, and it is on a topic which I know very little about. I have checked out books from multiple libraries and have raided the children’s sections, just in case there was something basic that should be general knowledge by my age. And all the while I…
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