Tag: Arts

Write Your Novel this Summer Challenge

Summer Writing Challenge Check-in: Week 8 | I DID IT!!!!

Mandy Webster
The state capitol of Madison, Wisconsin
We’re off to Madison for a little staycation to celebrate my completion of the summer novel writing challenge. | The state capitol of Madison, Wisconsin (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Well, I did it. I set myself a goal to write a fifteen-chapter novel in fifteen days. I ended up needing an extra chapter, so I wrote a sixteen-chapter novel in sixteen days. I have officially completed the Write Your Novel This Summer Challenge!

At 83 pages and 22,935 words, my first draft is (obviously) full of holes. However, the important thing is that I finished it. The entire story is on the page. I have a beginning, middle, and an end. I did not write a single unnecessary scene. I wrote only the pieces that absolutely had to be there to hold the puzzle together. Now, on to draft #2!

What’s next for me? Continue reading “Summer Writing Challenge Check-in: Week 8 | I DID IT!!!!” →

Write Your Novel this Summer Challenge

Summer Writing Challenge Check-in: Week 7 | Are we there yet?

Mandy Webster
Cast of characters in The Big Bang Theory. Fro...
How can I be expected to write anything when The Big Bang Theory is on? | Cast of characters in The Big Bang Theory. From left: Howard Wolowitz, Leonard Hofstadter, Penny, Sheldon Cooper and Rajesh Koothrappali. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I have been on a writing roll this past week. I continued with the experiment I started last week and have managed to write one full chapter every single day!

I almost didn’t make it yesterday. I had suffered a bout of insomnia the night before and hadn’t fallen asleep until after 2 a.m. When I woke at 8:00 yesterday morning, I was so exhausted, I just couldn’t seem to function. I spent the first half of the day crashed out on the couch beating myself up over the fact that I hadn’t written my day’s chapter yet. Then I spent the afternoon thinking about it while hanging out with my kids, looking through old photo albums. Continue reading “Summer Writing Challenge Check-in: Week 7 | Are we there yet?” →

Blogging

10 Day Writing Blogger Challenge: Day 10

Mandy Webster

Day 10 - 10-day-write-blog-challengeDay 10 Prompt: List 5 top blog posts from fellow participants in this challenge. Link to them, and say why you enjoyed them.

Okay, so let’s be 100% honest here. I have not had a chance to read many of the other participants’ posts due to the fact that I have been on a writing roll this past week. You know how it is when you’ve got that momentum, and you just can’t let it go?

Since I do not feel comfortable choosing a list of favorites at this point, I am just going to share a link to the list of all participants so you can go check them out. Continue reading “10 Day Writing Blogger Challenge: Day 10” →

Blogging, Writers on Writing

10 Day Writing Blogger Challenge: Day 8

Mandy Webster

Day 8 - 10-day-write-blog-challengeDay 8 Prompt: Post about your writing routines / rituals / habits or quirks.

One of the best ways I’ve found for me to be productive as a writer is to get up early in the morning, make a cup of coffee, and sit down at my kitchen table with a notebook first thing without allowing myself to go anywhere near my computer. As soon as I sit down at the computer, I can count on losing several hours of writing time.

If I really need to get something done in the afternoon, then a trip to the library or a coffee shop helps as well. Sometimes I just need to write in a different location. Continue reading “10 Day Writing Blogger Challenge: Day 8” →

Blogging

10 Day Writing Blogger Challenge: Day 6

Mandy Webster

Day 6 - 10-day-write-blog-challengeDay 6 Prompt: For today’s prompt, I decided to use the alternative prompt, as I have already profiled my most-read blogs. Here’s the alternative prompt: Share a personal interest or hobby that you have aside from writing – how has this inspired and impacted your writing? Required: at least one photo!

My personal interest/hobby is Nature, for sure! I liken the composting of old growth and kitchen waste in my garden to the composting of ideas that must take place in my mind in order for me to write a good story. Continue reading “10 Day Writing Blogger Challenge: Day 6” →

Write Your Novel this Summer Challenge

Summer Writing Challenge Check-in: Week 6 | Breaking the rules, starting a new project

Mandy Webster
"Writing", 22 November 2008
I actually had a very productive writing week. | “Writing”, 22 November 2008 (Photo credit: ed_needs_a_bicycle)

This week, I am breaking one of those fundamental writing rules. You know the one about how you should finish one project before starting the next? Yeah, well, I totally broke it.

My existing work in progress (WIP) seems hopelessly stalled at the moment. I know what the problem is. My focus is too broad. I need to start cutting, but I can’t decide where to start. I decided to do some experimenting with a simplified story line to gain some perspective on my problem. Next thing I knew, I’d mapped out an entire new novel project and written a first chapter to go with it.

Yes, I broke the rule.

At least I am writing again. Continue reading “Summer Writing Challenge Check-in: Week 6 | Breaking the rules, starting a new project” →

Blogging, Uncategorized

10 Day Writing Blogger Challenge: Day 1

Mandy Webster
10-day-write-blog-challenge-button300
Welcome to the 10 Day Writing Blogger Challenge.

I’ve been reading Vikki Thompson’s responses to Hunting Down Writing’s 10 Day Writing Blogger Challenge over on her blog, The View Outside and decided to partake in the challenge myself. So, without further ado, here is my response to the Day 1 Writing Prompt:

For this first post, I chose to use the alternative prompt, as I believe I have already shared a pitch of my current novel project.

Here’s the first prompt: Discuss whether writers should blog about writing.

And my answer: YES! I think writers should blog about writing for a variety of reasons. Continue reading “10 Day Writing Blogger Challenge: Day 1” →

Write Your Novel this Summer Challenge

Summer Writing Challenge Check-in: Week 5 | I just don’t know how to say no

Mandy Webster
my new kitten lulu la gata
This is my new baby kitty. Her name is Lulu La Gata. (La Gata is Spanish for “the cat.)

I should consider changing my Friday Writing Challenge Check-in series to “This Week’s Excuse for Not Writing.” Seriously, people, if I keep this up, I’m going to have to stop calling myself a writer. Maybe I should change my title to “blogger” since I can at least manage that.

Anyway, last Friday I headed out to Illinois for a huge family campout (huge as in somewhere around 60 to 70 family members showed up.) Of course, I brought my notebooks. Of course, I was too busy camping and visiting with family to write in them.

We camped until Sunday morning, then went to my parents’ house for a couple of days. Then I made a stop at my sister’s house a couple of hours north of my parents. I was planning to come home Wednesday, but she begged me to stay another day since she was off Wednesday and we could actually hang out and see each other. Once school starts, I’ll hardly get to see any of my family at all until next summer, so I couldn’t say no. Continue reading “Summer Writing Challenge Check-in: Week 5 | I just don’t know how to say no” →

Novel Writing

Studying the four-part story structure

Mandy Webster
William Faulkner's Underwood Universal Portabl...
I wonder if someone will one day turn my crappy apartment into a shrine to my writing? | William Faulkner’s Underwood Universal Portable sits in his office at Rowan Oak, which is now maintained by the University of Mississippi in Oxford as a museum. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The second half of my novel is shaping up to be the toughest to figure out. The first half seemed to flow straight out of my subconscious mind and onto the page without much thought or effort on my part. Which is strange, considering I had no idea where I was going with my story at the time.

Now that I know where I want to go, I can’t seem to figure out how to get there. A recent Writer’s Digest blog post titled, How to Structure a Killer Novel Ending got me thinking about my story’s structure again.

In the early stages of writing my novel, I considered my overall structure many times and in various forms. It’s something I might not have done if not for the fact that I was taking an advanced novel writing course and was forced to do so by my professor. I am glad she did though, because that intense examination of structure really helped me get my story moving. Continue reading “Studying the four-part story structure” →

Memoir, Write Your Novel this Summer Challenge

Summer Writing Challenge Check-in: Week 4

Mandy Webster
word count work in progress
This is the actual word count for my work in progress.

I haven’t added many words to my novel this week, as I have spent much of this writing week engaged in weaving. It’s all because of this one very important character who suddenly popped up around page 150. I think he is important enough that he needs to show up sooner. So, I’ve been reading my way through my first 150 pages looking for opportunities to include him in the action.

On one hand, I think this could be a second draft activity, as it is keeping me from writing forward in my story. On the other hand, this character is important enough to the overall story that I think I need to spend some time getting to know him and seeing how he interacts with my protagonist. Thus, the time spent weaving him in. Continue reading “Summer Writing Challenge Check-in: Week 4” →