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Writing Resource – The First Five Pages
Posted on January 29, 2015 Leave a Comment
Called “A Writer’s Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile,” The First Five Pages is a how-to manual on sprucing up the beginning our your novel. I’ve had this book a long time. A dear writing friend gave this to me years ago. I’m just now reading it. Covering the basics, it’s everything from […]
A Note of Appreciation
Posted on January 28, 2015 Leave a Comment
I just wanted to tell you all how much I appreciate you reading this blog. I really do. You come from over 30 countries besides the U.S. My statistics tell me you like the posts about writing resources. I will continue that. Some of you are my friends and you know me. Some of you […]
A Season and a Time for Everything
Posted on January 22, 2015 2 Comments
The Birds used verses from Ecclesiastes 3 to say “To everything, turn, turn, turn. There is a season, turn, turn, turn.” It’s not even a year old yet. But it might be undergoing a bit of a change again. In November, I challenged myself to post three times a week. It’s been getting a bit […]
Breakout III – General Story Techniques
Posted on January 16, 2015 1 Comment
This week, we’ve been looking at Donald Maas’ Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook. I trust you have had your whistle whetted to learn more from this writing resource. Yesterday, we looked at Lessons 13-24, Part II, Plot Development. The lessons covered everything from subplots, to adding tension in different ways, to how and when to […]
Writing to Breakout II – Plot
Posted on January 15, 2015 Leave a Comment
This week, we’re looking at Donald Maas’ Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook. My goal is to inspire and educate you to the basics of writing, and hopefully help you find resources to enhance your writing. Yesterday, we looked at Lessons 1-12, Part I, Character Development from Donald Maas. The lessons covered everything from adding heroic […]
Point of View II – First, Omni, Third
Posted on January 8, 2015 Leave a Comment
Yesterday, I talked about “headhopping.” That’s jumping from one character’s POV into another’s head in the scene. If you write this way, you’re in good company, but it’s jarring to the reader. In Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, by Renni Browne and Dave King, they open Chapter 3, Point of View, with a short passage from […]
No Headhopping Allowed
Posted on January 7, 2015 2 Comments
What’s “headhopping?” Simply stated, it’s multiple points of view within one scene. It’s jarring to the reader, and it shows me, the reader, that the author doesn’t have a complete understanding of Point of View (POV). Mostly I read it in either poorly edited books or self-published books. Blunt people would call it “headhopping.” Let’s […]
Process – Finally A Step Closer
Posted on December 17, 2014 4 Comments
I finally got some good news on Sunday. Back in September I entered Operation First Novel from Christian Writers Guild. Even though the Guild has closed, Jerry B. Jenkins has promised to follow through with everything that began this year, and included Operation First Novel. I got an email on Sunday. Meghan’s Choice made the […]
Writer’s Resource – Plot and Structure
Posted on December 12, 2014 2 Comments
One of my resources for writers is James Scott Bell’s Plot and Structure. I read some of this book as part of my online writers classes. It’s very good, and covers a lot. What I like about this book is that he has it laid out very well, and there graphs, tips, quotes, and […]
Writer’s Resource – the Emotion Thesaurus
Posted on December 11, 2014 5 Comments
I recently purchased The Emotional Thesaurus through Amazon. I haven’t explored it thoroughly, but from what I’ve seen, it’s going to be very helpful. How do you write anger, joy, desperation, despair, or denial? Let’s look first at how the book is laid out. The emotion is at the top of a two-page spread. A […]
Donna L.H. Smith 