Day 5 Prompt: Show off 3 of your best blog posts (with links!)
My dream career: A 5-paragraph essay: I don’t know if this is really one of my best blog posts, but it does get me the most hits. I published this in March of 2012, and to this day, I still get at least 100 hits on this particular post every week. Most of my posts are lucky if they get 10 hits the week they’re published. Interestingly enough, the search terms that are most often used to find my blog are “essay on my dream career” Continue reading “10 Day Writing Blogger Challenge: Day 5”→
Day 4 Prompt: Profile 3 to 5 top writing craft books
The following are three of my favorite writing craft books:
Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. Is it a memoir or a craft book? Well, it’s a little of both. Part I covers King’s early writing years, starting with the short stories he wrote in grade school and working his way through high school and college, and then on to his time as a struggling English teacher with a substance abuse problem. In the rest of the book, King discusses his own theories on the craft. It’s an easy read full of “ah-ha moments.” A must-read for every writer, from beginner to master. Continue reading “10 Day Writing Blogger Challenge: Day 4”→
Do you take a lot of pictures? If so, author Richard Wright is doing something over at his blog that I think you should check out and possibly help out with. He’s calling it The 52.
Here’s the deal. Richard is planning to write one short story per week in 2014. Each short story will be based on one of many pictures that he is asking his readers to submit. To join, all you have to do is send him a picture. He writes a story based on your image, then posts it to his blog sometime next year. You maintain the rights to your image, and he gives you full credit on his blog.
Sound like fun? I thought so. Here’s my entry:
This is the image I submitted to Richard Wright for The 52.
It’s time to sit down at that desk and get some writing done! | Writing table of Marie-Antoinette by Riesener (1783), Petit appartement de la reine, Palace of Versailles. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
June 21st was the first day of summer and officially the first day of the Write Your Novel this Summer Challenge. I meant to do a big kickoff on the 21st, but as I mentioned in my last post, life kinda got in the way. I’ve spent the past few days since I returned from my disappointing journey unpacking and trying to put my life back together. I still have a bit of unpacking and organizing to do, but I have decided today is the day I need to get back to writing. If I don’t do it now, I’ll just keep putting it off, and summer will be over before I know it.
I doubt I’m the only person who got sidetracked and didn’t jump right into my novel on the first day of summer. I’m here to tell you it’s okay if you haven’t started yet. Just because you missed the first several days of the challenge, that doesn’t mean you now have to wait until next year. But you should force yourself to sit down and start as soon as possible. How does today work for you? Continue reading “There is no better day to start writing your novel than today.”→
This is the first Wannabe Writer interview in what I hope will be a regular feature here at Write on the World.
A lifelong avid reader of fantastical fiction, Amy Burney has a Bachelor of Integrative Studies. In college, Amy took language arts courses to understand what makes a good young adult novel, and reviewed many literary works for their merit in classrooms. Amy is writing a young adult fantasy novel to contribute to the field of young adult fantasy, and to share her main character’s story with the world. She grew up in the Harry Potter generation.
Q: Tell us a little about your current work in process.
A: Right now I’m working on a young adult fantasy novel involving a little of “real life” and some of a fantasy realm. The main character is a high school girl who’s curious about mysterious occurrences happening in her everyday life. That leads her to discovering a new world, including new creatures and characters. She goes on some big adventures, and learns about herself.
Q: What’s your day job?
A: I’m a freelance writer for some online companies.
Q: When do you find time to write?
A: That can be hard sometimes. I try to commit to writing 2000 words a day. I normally just sit myself in a chair and say that I won’t do anything else until I write.
Okay, so yesterday I put out a little teaser about a new blog thing I want to do. It’s called Wannabe Writer Wednesdays, and the goal is to highlight writers who are in the same boat I am in. In other words, I want to interview writers who either haven’t yet published anything or have published next to nothing. I want to highlight the wannabes like me rather than the already famous.
Why would I do such a thing? Well, several of the blogs I follow interview writers who are already publishing. These are usually writers who are marketing a newly released book. While I enjoy reading these interviews, and have even learned a thing or two from them, I think it would be equally interesting to read about writers who are still in the wannabe stage. Misery loves company, right? Continue reading “Coming soon: Wannabe Writer Wednesdays”→
At some point, most writers feel they are not cut out for this thing they are pursuing. Whether they regard it as their passion or something they’ve always wanted to do, some often feel they do not possess enough skills to produce material that’s worth reading. Self-doubt can be crippling, and writers are not exempt from being bogged down by this feeling. Once it sets in, your vision is clouded with thoughts of inefficiency, not being good enough, and just not being meant to do it. This will hinder you from reaching your maximum potential.
At the same time, you can use it to propel yourself toward improvement. Conquering self-doubt is no easy feat. It comes in bouts, which can be hard to shake off your system. It can be healthy on occasion, if you learn to use it to your advantage. Claim those ill thoughts and unleash your power over them. You must kill it before it kills you. Continue reading “Guest Post: Conquering Self-Doubt about Your Writing Skills”→
Do you ever find yourself staring at an empty page, afraid to put down that first word because you do not know if it is exactly what you want to express in your story? Do you worry about each sentence, afraid you are going to write something that (heaven forbid) tells rather than shows your story?
I know you want to sit down and write a complete and perfect story. We all do. But most of the time it just doesn’t work that way. If you let yourself get bogged down in the details of perfection in the first draft, your first draft will never be complete. Continue reading “Sometimes it’s okay to tell a story rather than showing it”→
Do you outline first, or just start writing? |writing blue (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
At Write Your Novel this Summer, we just launched our Featured Writer series where we will feature individual writers who are participating in our summer novel writing challenge. To become a Featured Writer, all you have to do is ‘like’ our Facebook page, look for Featured Writer Prompts, and submit a response to the prompt along with a link to your blog or online writing portfolio. If your submission is chosen, we will feature you and link to your page from our Facebook page (see the Notes section of our Facebook page for more details.)
Yesterday, I posted our first Featured Writers Prompt, but I have yet to receive any submissions. So I thought I would answer the prompt myself to try to get the ball rolling. I want to also encourage my readers to submit. This is a great opportunity to drive readers to your blogs and writing portfolios. It’s also a great way to find out about other writers and learn how they approach the novel writing process. Continue reading “Featured Writer Prompt: How do you prep for a new novel writing project?”→
Day 5 Prompt: Show off 3 of your best blog posts (with links!)
Write on the World 