“Who’s doing NaNoWriMo this year?” (A question at our writers’ group meeting.) It’s that time of year again. November and NaNoWriMo loom large. Will you participate? Whether you’re joining in or not, if you’re an author, you worry about setting: How much scene-setting do you ...
Fiction Tips
Write Fiction Readers Love: 3 Tips To Convey Emotions
At a recent writers’ group meeting, we discussed how to write fiction that readers love and remember. The discussion started when one author said: “Last week I caught up on my reading. I read four (genre) novels. After I finished them, I struggled to remember the characters. And the ...
Writing Fiction: Start With People To Avoid Plot Disasters
In our latest writers’ group meeting, we talked about writing fiction and character creation and development. We’re back to our regular meetings, thank heavens. Sadly, our group’s been decimated, but we’ll build it up again. Start with plot or characters? That’s a topic which never ...
Writing Fiction: A Quick Beginners’ Tip
Is there a trick to switching from nonfiction to writing fiction? The nonfiction author who asked this question in our online writer’s group was trying to write fiction during the lockdown. She found it tough. “There’s no flow to my fiction,” she told us. “It’s hard. I can get into a ...
Writing Fiction? Choose Two Writing Strategies For 2020
“Writing fiction is hard,” one of our writers’ group members said in our final meeting before the holidays. “Next year, I’m choosing just two strategies. With just two, maybe I can focus and get better at writing.” We all loved her “two strategies” idea. The writer shared her strategies with ...
Plotting Fiction: The Most Popular Posts This Year
Continuing with our yearly review, let’s look at the blog’s most popular posts for plotting fiction. Is plotting a challenge for you? I found plotting horrendous for years: I was convinced that I was a pantser (someone who writes by the seat of his pants)—I was someone who couldn’t ...
