Tag: Writing

Novel Writing

Minor characters have major impact on story

Mandy Webster

 

Artwork of the main characters.
No matter how awesome your main characters are, your minor characters can give you a completely different perspective on the story. | Artwork of the main characters. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Is your story making you angry? Maybe you’ve written several chapters, and each of them alone seem like a great start, but you’re having a hard time getting them to work together as a whole. What do you do when you hit these rough patches that make you feel like you will never be able to make your novel “work?”

One strategy I suggest to help you get over that rough patch is to take yourself out of the “official” story for a while, have a couple of glasses of wine (or a couple of beers,) and sit and do some free writes looking at the story from the point of view of the most minor character in the novel. Continue reading “Minor characters have major impact on story” →

Novel Writing

Chapter One: Where do you begin?

Mandy Webster
The Protagonist
You have to figure out who your protagonist is today before you can ever hope to understand how she will react to the conflict you’re about to throw into her life. | The Protagonist (Photo credit: JerixTheKid)

As a reader, I expect a lot from a first chapter. I want to be drawn into the story immediately, from page one. I can’t stand a novel that makes me wade through three or four chapters before something “happens.”

Choosing a natural starting point is key. I wrote the first draft of my chapter one last week after completing several writing exercises for class. I was looking for that seemingly small action in my character’s life that would help set the story in motion.

I provided my character with a choice to make in the very first chapter. It may not seem like a huge choice at the time, but it’s one the reader will look back at four or five chapters later and realize that none of the conflict of this novel would have ever occurred had the main character chosen differently in chapter one. Continue reading “Chapter One: Where do you begin?” →

NaNoWriMo, Novel Writing

Who’s doing NaNoWriMo this year?

Mandy Webster
The setup for NaNoWriMo at home, if I need to ...
Are you ready for NaNoWriMo? | clickthing.blogspot.com/2008/10/tennish-anyone.html (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

November is nigh. It’s time to decide. Are you jumping into National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) this year?

Last year was my first shot at National Novel Writing Month. I didn’t get very far at 11,654 words, but I still found NaNo a valuable experience. As I mentioned in a previous post, last year’s NaNoWriMo really pushed me to look at my writing process and figure out this whole outlining of the novel business. Continue reading “Who’s doing NaNoWriMo this year?” →

Education, Writing Prompts, Written Communication

Wednesday Writing Prompt: The Greatest Longing

Mandy Webster
English: ink and charcoal on paper
What is the greatest longing of your main character’s soul? | English: ink and charcoal on paper (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Quite some time ago, I mentioned that I would be posting writing prompts for you on Wednesdays, but somehow I never managed to follow through. But, have I got a good one for you today!

One of the writing exercises I had to complete for my Advanced Novel Writing course this week included a free-write in which I had to answer the following question:

What is the GREATEST LONGING in this character’s soul? Continue reading “Wednesday Writing Prompt: The Greatest Longing” →

Random Writing Rants

I need to write something

Mandy Webster
Emergency "Twitter was down so I wrote my...
Emergency “Twitter was down so I wrote my tweet on paper and photographed it and posted on flickr” : Satire on internet culture (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I seriously need to write something soon. Or stop calling myself a writer.

Maybe this would have made a better Twitter update than a blog post. Continue reading “I need to write something” →

Uncategorized

When words get in my way

Mandy Webster
American Author Ernest Hemingway aboard his Ya...
You don’t have to be the next Ernest Hemingway to sell a ton of books.

Are you over-educated? Do you ever feel like your over-educated mind gets in the way of you enjoying activities that you used to love? Does it seem like your brain analyzes everything you read whether you want it to or not? Believe it or not, this happens to me. I used to love to read, but I have recently found myself incapable of finishing a book due to my brain’s insistence on over-analyzing every word I read.

Before I returned to school to pursue a master’s degree in professional writing, I used to be able to read four or five books a week. I could tear through each book and really enjoy each one without giving much thought as to how well-written they were. But these days, my over-educated brain seems to get in the way of me enjoying a hobby that used to be my favorite way to pass the time.

For example, I recently decided to read 50 Shades of Grey to see what the hype is all about. I knew going into the experience that the book wasn’t likely to be very well written. I didn’t buy the book because I was looking for an example of good writing to follow. No, I bought it because I occasionally enjoy a nice, trashy romance novel and thought this might be an entertaining read. Continue reading “When words get in my way” →

Random Writing Rants, Social Media

Spellcheck Public Service Announcement

Mandy Webster
Words
Words (Photo credit: Southernpixel Alby.us)

You may have noticed that, when updating your Facebook status, certain words might occasionally show up in the text box with a red squiggly line under them. This red squiggly line typically indicates that you have spelled a word incorrectly.

Whenever this happens, simply right click over the squiggled word and see if a correct spelling is available. Click on the correct spelling and proceed with your status update.

If the correct spelling is unavailable, you can usually google the word to find the correct spelling. Unless you have completely butchered the word, you should be able to easily find the correct spelling using the tools available right at your fingertips. Continue reading “Spellcheck Public Service Announcement” →

Blogging, Writing Prompts

Writing prompt: Pick an object

Mandy Webster
The side tables have convenient drawers and ma...
You never know when the inspiration for your next great story might lurk somewhere in the depths of a random drawer. | (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you’re a teacher or student (or both, like me,) your head is probably about to explode from all of the recent end-of-year academic activities. So, for today’s Wednesday Writing Prompt, I thought it might be appropriate to pick something fun and light to write about. Of course, if you’re in the mood for deep and dark, you could probably take it that way too. Here goes:

Without looking, reach into a drawer, any drawer, in the room in which you are right this moment. (If you’re in a public place or someone else’s home, you may want to ask for permission first.) Pull out the first item you can get your hands on. Remember, don’t look in the drawer or look for a particular item. Instead, I want you to grab one random item Continue reading “Writing prompt: Pick an object” →

Domestic Violence, Truth

Life is Truth

Mandy Webster
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
The Witch of Blackbird Pond (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In a recent Wednesday Writing Prompt, I asked you to consider what themes and motifs seem to appear regularly in your everyday life. One theme that regularly appears in my life is the concept of “truth.” This has occasionally crossed my mind over the past three years, but finally hit home last week when I discovered that yet another research paper had turned into a discussion of the identification and exploration of universal truths.

I’d been writing a narratological analysis of Elizabeth George Speare’s historical YA novel, The Witch of Blackbird Pond and found that many of the academic resources I was reviewing on historical fiction seem to touch on those aspects of human nature that are largely unchanged from one generation to the next. While this was, by no means, the thesis of any of the research papers I read, it was the one common thread that seemed to weave through all of the pieces. Continue reading “Life is Truth” →

Education, Random Writing Rants, Written Communication

Active vs. passive voice: Why you should care

Mandy Webster
Wheeeee!
Wheeeee! (Photo credit: Erika Hall)

Do you use active language in your writing? Do your teachers occasionally tell you that your writing is too passive? Are you confused about what this means? Don’t worry, you’re not alone.

One of my students told me last semester that her mom is an English teacher, and that she doesn’t even bother trying to teach the difference between active and passive voice to her students anymore because none of them ever “get it.” What a shame.

I wonder sometimes why passive voice is such an easy trap to fall into. After all, active sentences are typically simpler than passive sentences and require fewer words. Wouldn’t you think the brain would take the path of least resistance and lead the writer to write more active sentences? Apparently not. Continue reading “Active vs. passive voice: Why you should care” →