Writing – Page 11 – Write on the World

This was our table for the day at the TreeGhost General Store and Cafe located in Hubertus, WI.

Saturday, my writer friend and I trekked out to Hubertus, WI, located at 5241 State HWY 167 (Holy Hill Rd) to spend the day writing at the TreeGhost Café. TreeGhost is conveniently located within minutes of the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians, at Holy Hill, and is an excellent locale for those of you who would like to do some sightseeing before or after you write.

Locally owned and operated, TreeGhost offers service you just won’t find at any chain café. When we arrived, we were personally greeted by Kevin, the owner. Kevin made sure we had everything we needed for a productive day of writing and wasn’t satisfied until he made sure I was able to get my laptop online. Continue reading “Places to write: TreeGhost General Store and Café, Hubertus, WI” →

Write Your Novel this Summer Challenge

Summer writing challenge check in: Week 2

July 5, 2013July 4, 2013 Mandy Webster

overcoming writer's block - crumpled paper on ... — This wad of paper pretty much sums up all aspects of my life at the moment. | overcoming writer’s block – crumpled paper on wooden floor – crushed paper (Photo credit: photosteve101)

I am setting a horrible example for my summer writing challenge participants. I just can’t seem to get anything written. At least not on my novel. I’ve been dealing with some personal issues (on top of the whole job fiasco, as if I didn’t have enough to feel depressed about,) and it seems like every time I put a pen to paper, that’s all I can write about. This doesn’t bode well for me finishing my novel by the end of the summer.

So, my accomplishments this week: there was one. I wrote a tragedy arc for one of my characters to try to stoke the writing fires. That didn’t get me far. I’m thinking of writing a tragedy arc for myself next. It might be fun to plot my own demise. Continue reading “Summer writing challenge check in: Week 2” →

Writers on Writing

Wannabe Writer Wednesday: An interview with Mark L. Anderson

July 3, 2013June 27, 2013 Mandy Webster

Mark L. Anderson writer — Mark L. Anderson’s first novel, BLACK WOLF LODGE, was published in 2010. He is currently on schedule to publish his second novel, The Bet, by the end of this summer.

Welcome to Wannabe Writer Wednesday! This week’s interview is with author Mark L. Anderson.

Mark’s Bio

I grew up in Indiana, attended high school and college in Ohio, and have lived the last 40 years in Illinois. Since retiring from teaching in 2007, I’ve found time to get serious about that writing dream. My first novel BLACK WOLF LODGE was published in 2010, and I currently have two short stories, “Hobo Willie” and “Pinewood Farm” available as Kindle editions. Most weekday mornings, after that first cup of coffee, I am usually at work on my MacBook, realizing that chasing that writing dream is an ongoing thing–one that seems to become more exciting with each passing day!

Mark’s Interview

1. Tell us a little about your current work in process. Continue reading “Wannabe Writer Wednesday: An interview with Mark L. Anderson” →

Poetry, Publishing

I need some advice on self-publishing

June 29, 2013June 28, 2013 Mandy Webster

Insert cover art here — It’s probably pretty pathetic that something as simple as designing a book cover is what is keeping me from self-publishing my poems, huh?

A few semesters ago, I took a poetry writing course. I don’t really consider myself a poet, but I like to dabble from time to time. I wanted to take a course that would challenge me to think about my writing in a different way, and this poetry course definitely fit the bill.

At first, I had a hard time writing poems on demand. Then I started reading poetry on a regular basis, and the ideas began to flow. I started jotting stuff down as it came to me, and I ended up with a stock of poems to choose from whenever the time came to turn one in for a grade. Continue reading “I need some advice on self-publishing” →

Write Your Novel this Summer Challenge

Write Your Novel this Summer: It’s time for our first check in!

June 28, 2013 Mandy Webster

kitty — Kitty says, “Stop looking at me and get back to writing!”

Well, it has officially been one full week since the start of our summer writing challenge. I plan to check in once a week on Fridays throughout the entire summer. Since I really haven’t accomplished anything yet, this week I will simply report on my starting point.

I started the summer writing challenge with a total of 65,128 words written. That’s about 240 double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 pt font pages.

While figuring out where to jump back into my story this week, I read my last few chapters and did a bit of surface editing here and there. I have also done a bit of freewriting, which I will not add into my word count. I am still in the freewriting stage at the moment, trying to get back on track with my story. Hopefully by next week I will be cranking out some actual chapters again. Continue reading “Write Your Novel this Summer: It’s time for our first check in!” →

Novel Writing

I am back to the writing board and struggling to move my story forward

June 27, 2013 Mandy Webster

Sitting here watching the flowers grow when I should be writing — I hate to admit it, but yesterday I spent more time sitting here watching the flowers grow outside my office window than I spent writing.

Yesterday I began working on my novel again. I didn’t realize how long it had been since I’d looked at it. I first had to dig around in my computer files to make sure I was working with the latest version of my document. Next, I had to find the notebook I was writing in so I could figure out where I left off. Then I had to read the last few chapters to remind myself what was going on when I last looked at it. After that, I needed to figure out where my story needs to go next to keep it moving forward. Then I spent the rest of the day alternating between staring at my computer screen and staring at my notebook (and staring out the window.) Continue reading “I am back to the writing board and struggling to move my story forward” →

Write Your Novel this Summer Challenge

There is no better day to start writing your novel than today.

June 26, 2013 Mandy Webster

June 21^st 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 21^st, 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.” →

Novel Writing

I’m dreaming up my next novel project

May 12, 2013 Mandy Webster

Last night, I dreamed I was reading a novel synopsis on the cover of a book. I woke at 2 a.m. with the words of that synopsis echoing in my head. I lay in a half-sleep thinking, “That sounds like a good book, I should really read that one.” Then it occurred to me the synopsis had come from my head, not from any now-published novel, and it hit me: I’d better write that down!

I tapped my tappable bedside lamp for some light, reached for my bedside pen and notebook, and started scribbling the words from that dreamed synopsis before they could dissipate into the night. I filled one notebook page then, thinking I was done, put it aside and shut off my lamp. I thought I would drift back to sleep. Continue reading “I’m dreaming up my next novel project” →

Novel Writing

It’s a theme, not a scene

May 3, 2013 Mandy Webster

What this story needs is a theme, something for the literary geniuses to expound upon in Freshman Lit. | English: Chimpanzee Typing (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This morning, I’m typing up a couple of “found” scenes I wrote in a notebook almost four years ago. (I mentioned these scenes in an earlier post.) When I wrote these, I wasn’t really thinking about them in terms of scenes, but was scribbling out a freewrite with some ideas I had for a novel.

Many of my freewrites begin with me telling myself about something I want to do, and then they morph into scenes as I enter “the zone.” So it was no surprise to me when the first few paragraphs I typed up were back-story. But as I was typing, it occurred to me that what I had on the page at this moment was a theme, not a scene or even back-story. Continue reading “It’s a theme, not a scene” →

Novel Writing, Write Your Novel this Summer Challenge

Featured Writer Prompt: How do you prep for a new novel writing project?

May 1, 2013 Mandy Webster

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?” →

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Mark’s Bio

Mark’s Interview

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