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Rewriting vs. Editing the #NaNoWriMo Novel #writetip
It’s time to tackle revising your NaNo novel (but these techniques work for any novel, really). For most of you, that means rewriting, not just editing. How is rewriting different from editing and why should you care? (See also: Revising the NaNo Novel) Typically, a writer gets a first draft on paper, then reads what she’s written and rewords some things, rewrites a few scenes, and possibly rearranges some of the action. How many of you rethink the main conflict or characterization, or the basic plot at this point? Probably not many....
read moreRevising the #NaNoWriMo Novel (Part 1) #writetip
It’s January. The holidays are over and you’ve probably made a bunch of writing-related resolutions you’ve already given up on. If one of those is whipping your NaNo novel into good enough shape to publish, you’re in the right place. By now, NaNoWriMos fall into a few different categories: 1. You haven’t looked at your story since November 30. 2. You’ve been tearing your hair out since December 1 and you still aren’t happy with the story after multiple rounds of revisions. 3. You started reading it again and gave up after a...
read more#NaNoWriMo Rescue #1 #amwriting
By now, day 21, you should be about 75% of the way through your story. If you’re at about 35,000 words you’re on target to finish on time. If you’re not, let’s take a look at what might help. If you’re just not finding time to write, check out the last post on ways to get more words in. If your story isn’t quite working, there are a few things you can do. I’ll address those in just a minute. If you are pretty much on track you should know where the whole story is going. Whether you planned or pantsed this year, 75% of the way through, you...
read more8 Tips for Hitting the #NaNoWriMo Numbers #writetip #amwriting
By now (Day 17) ideally you would have 26,666 written and cross the 28,333 mark by midnight tonight. Everyone is there, right? If you’re not hitting these numbers, don’t worry. There are two more weekends after this one. Keep going and whatever you do, do not give up. Even if you don’t hit 50k, or you don’t finish your story, make as much progress as you possibly can. The whole experience will be a great learning opportunity Flexing Your Writing Muscles Writing every day is difficult. If you aren’t already writing on a regular basis, you will...
read more#NaNoWriMo Story Plan for my FBI/BDSM/Druglord/Suspense Novel #NaNoPlan
[Update June 2014: the book, Bound for Trouble, has been published by Dreamspinner Press. During rewrites and editing, I changed several key elements in the story, specifically the character and motivation of the FBI agent to make him more likeable. The changes worked very well and I got a lot of email from readers asking for a sequel because they liked both characters so much. In fact, I got more emails for this book than I have for all of my other novels put together!] It’s been a rough busy start this month while I was finishing up...
read more#NaNoWriMo Planning Kit #NaNoPlan
National Novel Writing Month began on November 1. How are you doing so far? I’ve put together a series of blog posts on the best way to plan your NaNo novel so you be much more likely to not only keep writing, hit the 50,000-word mark, but also end up with a finished novel at the end of the month. You may even find you need to do less of the heavy rewriting, if you get on a solid foundation before or during the first draft. I’ve been doing NaNo for about six years now. I’ve made every mistake there is. Do any of these sound familiar? Stared...
read moreWhat I #AmWriting for #NaNoWriMo 2013
I’ve posted a bunch of my own tips on planning for NaNoWriMo as well as the links to my worksheets and planning guide, and I realize I have yet to tell you all anything about what I’m writing this year. Shame on me! How can you believe my advice if I don’t go through the whole process with you this year too? Be my buddy on Nanowrimo.org Today I’ll remedy the situation. I am indeed going to participate—and WIN—at NaNo this year. I want to. I have to. I have a December 1 deadline with my publisher for a novel, so I damn well better get one...
read more#NaNoWriMo starts in 8 Days–Are You Ready to Write?
Plan Your NaNo Novel in as Little as One Day Now available in print and digital versions. NaNoWriMo or National Novel Writing Month is an annual event for writers around the world. It offers participants an opportunity to write a 50,000-word novel with the support of others. It may be just the motivation you need to get writing. The key to NaNoWriMo is planning–not outlining–your book before you even write a single word. Have you been dreaming of writing a novel for years and didn’t know how to tackle the daunting task? This...
read more#NaNoWriMo Story Planning in 11 Steps #writetip @smoothdraft
As I mentioned in my last post, Why You Should Plan Your NaNo in Advance, I believe planning the key elements is a fool-proof way to develop a novel that is big enough to last 50,000 words, and offers you the best inspiration to make it to the end of the story before November is over. Today I’ll give you an overview of my process and let you download the Story Planning Worksheets I use in my book How to Be a NaNoWriMo Winner (available directly from Smooth Draft, Amazon, Smashwords and ARe/Omni.) Here are my 11 steps. Other writing...
read moreHow to Blurb (and How Not to) #writing #writetip @smoothdraft
News Flash: I’ve added extensively to this information, including writing non-fiction blurbs, to create a complete guide to writing book descriptions that sell. Pre-order at Amazon NOW As an editor I see a lot of blurbs come across my desk. As a reader I see even more. And as an author, I have written plenty of them myself. I don’t particularly like to write them, but I know how vital blurbs are to marketing your book. So what is a blurb and how do you write one? First, let’s make the distinction between a blurb and a...
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