2013 - Year of the Writer

I'm declaring it for all of us

For my Insecure Writer's Support Group post, I'm taking my insecurities and creating myself a resolution list from them. So for 2013 I intend to:

• Edit - I've signed up for Year of the Edit, a course offered by the Queensland Writer's Centre. Editing can seem seem like an overwhelming task, fixing a story, the structure, character motivations... it always scares me a little when I begin. But to be honest, once I get started, rewrites are my favourite part of writing a novel because that's when I find my themes, motifs and hidden plot lines. I have at least four novels to edit this year.
• Improve my writing - This is always on my list, but this year I'm focusing on grammar to strengthen my writing. I'm working through workbooks and have a great friend who's very clever when it comes to grammar.
• Create Classroom resources - I do this anyway when I go to schools and run creative writing workshops or discuss my book. I'd like to make free classroom resources relating to my novels available by creating professional PDFs and putting a link to them up on my website. 
• Increase income/reduce expenditure - I've got a few big goals I'll need to save for. One of my goals is to have a weekender shack somewhere (beachside or national park area) that can double as my writer's retreat. 
• Read more indie novels and more Australian authors - I have so many friends that are indie authors, I'm ashamed I'm not reading more of these releases. I'm aiming to make every second book I read either Australian or indie. That should help me get through lots more without missing out on any mainstream traditionally published foreign books I may just be dying to read (like the next Spellman's book). I'm also going to submit a lot more Amazon reviews of the books I like.

In our family we also make a wish for the new year. It can be as big or wild as you want, and usually is something we couldn't possibly achieve in the one year, but it's nice to have high goals. Mine is for us to buy a property, but I do think it'll take more than a year of saving. Still, it'll help me stay focused on my saving resolution. What would your wild wish for 2013 be?

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10 Best Writing Workbooks

You can get great books on the craft of writing and learn to write a novel at home, but there's so many, how do you pick? My favourites are the workbooks providing exercises to try yourself. Here are the top ten workbooks for writing that I couldn't do without:

Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook by Donald Maass

You could write your whole novel with this workbook. Now don't be confused, there are two releases under this title. Writing the Breakout Novel is probably a good book too, but I prefer the workbook. It's condensed on the chapter lengths but has the added bonus of exercises for you to complete.

Steering the Craft by Ursula Le Guin

At first glance this seems like a run of the mill how-to book on writing. Nope. Le Guin has a magical way with words that transcends her fiction and makes a technical book a pleasure to read. She tackles the usual devices for good writing, but goes beyond and looks at elements that make beautiful writing. For example, her first chapter is on the sound of your writing and includes an exercise titled: 'Being Gorgeous'. It's not all airy-fairy though, you will cover punctuation, syntax, sentence length as well as some fun things like repetition, switching your point of view and using adverbs and adjectives (come on, we could all use some improvement with those). Her examples come from some of the greatest writers. I could read this book again and again.

The Writing Book: A Workbook for Fiction Writers by Kate Greenville

I use some of these exercises in my writing group. The book's a bit wordy for my short attention span, but good if you just use one section at a time (each section looks at a writing skill, such as dialogue, character, description, etc). The topic is explained, examples given and then you are asked to try your hand at writing with a guided exercise.

Don't Forget to Write: For the Secondary Grades by 826 National

Created by an amazing writing centre for young people, this workbook offers lesson plans for high school teachers wanting to offer their students some amazing creative and persuasive writing workshops. You don't have to be a teacher to use it, try the exercises yourself. There is also a Don't Forget to Write: for the Elementary Grades, if you've got some younger writers at home (5-12yrs).

The Art and Science of Light Bulb Moments by Tom Evans

Evans is an amazing speaker, just look for him on YouTube and you'll find many interviews. This is a writing manual with a difference, it's not about technique it's about sparking amazing creativity and ideas. You'll get amazing exercises but also find out the psychological or scientific reason these exercises work for us. Even simple acts like breathing can inspire creativity and kick start our imagination. 

The Artist's Way Workbook by Julia Cameron

Whenever there's a workbook available for a text, I'll just buy that. This is great to get you living the creative life rather than making small slots of time for creativity. Do the exercises even if they feel silly--my experience has always been the tasks I'm reluctant to try always harvest the best results. Each week you'll be assigned small tasks to promote creativity.

Specialist Subjects: 

Writing and Selling your Mystery Novel by Hallie Ephron

I'm still working my way through this workbook but it is perfect if you're writing a… well mystery obviously. Learn all the tropes and gain an insight into the necessary structure of a well-planned crime novel. There are charts for you to fill in and exercises that will take you right through the planning stages.

The Writer's Guide to Crafting Stories for Children by Nancy Lamb

This book is such a good guide it could be helpful for writing any kind of novel, but does offer a lot of insight into the children and YA book market. Find out exactly what kids expect from fiction. The text was suggested to me during a writing course I took and I'm glad to have discovered it.

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain Workbook by Betty Edwards

I know what you're thinking: 'But this is an artist's workbook!' Yes it is, and trust me, I'm no artist, however, drawing inspires creativity. Try a drawing exercise right before you sit down to work on your manuscript. There's something about allowing the pencil to flow over the page that helps release the words.

Adventures in Fantasy by John Gust

Another resource for the classroom but just as good for adults. This book is a whole workshop starting with planning your fantasy setting map to filling the world with characters and conflicts. Great for someone setting out to write their first Fantasy novel. There's lots of sheets to print or copy, so I recommend getting the physical book rather than the ebook version.

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Why, How and Where of Social Media

This week I was honoured to be invited to speak at a Strathpine Library to a writers group on the topic of social media. It was a fun night and the group was very welcoming and participated enthusiastically.

Here are some of the points we covered:

Why use social media?

1. Connect with your peers - Writers share a supportive and encouraging community. You'll find other writers who are learning the craft and willing to share their findings as well as professional authors offering tips and advice online. My online writing buddies have helped me by sharing links, bringing competitions to my attention, guiding my marketing plans, and making recommendations for service providers.
2. Keep up with industry news - You can follow agents, publishers and other industry experts to learn of opportunities and guidelines for submissions.
3. Reach an audience. Readers use social media too and they love making a personal connection with the authors they read. Social media is a great way to make readers aware of your books.

Marketing yourself:

1. Be consistent. Most writers will spread themselves over more than one social platform. Have one suitable profile picture, preferably of yourself and not your dog/cat/kids/favourite cartoon character. When people connect with you, they want to feel it's really you. Using the same profile pic on all platforms means follower won't be confused by your identity. 
2. Entertain, educate or engage. This is the only reason you post. If you can be humorous, go ahead, share a joke (appropriate to your target audience). Followers will also appreciate tips and advice. Plus don't forget to respond to other people's posts, make a connection.
3. Some people believe you must follow everyone who follows you. I feel you should follow the people who's posts interest you, don't worry if they follow you back.
4. Stand by your own standards and ethics, don't criticise other peoples decisions online. For example, there's a lot of criticism about certain authors paying for reviews lately. I choose not to pay for review, but those authors who do have the right to make their own choices. 

Where to go?

There's many options for social media, here's my choices:

1. Blogger. I tried Wordpress and looked at others, but for me Blogger was a nice simple and clear platform. It's very easy to update and to follow through Google friends. I also like that Blogger links to my Google+ account.
2. Facebook. This is not my favourite platform, but it's where my friends are. I don't like the way you have to request a friend acceptance from people you want to follow. It is handy though for creating fan or group pages.
3. Google+. I like the way this platform flows. The circles are a great idea, you place people into the groups you want to use. My circles include writers, marketing, internet experts, artists and friends/family.
4. Twitter. This is great for finding and sharing links. You're limited to short posts, so sometimes it can feel a bit like everyone is posting at you rather than interacting, but it is the platform that has generated the most sales for my ebook My Zombie Dog.
5. Goodreads. A good site for gaining reviews.
6. Amazon. You can create your own author page.
7. YouTube. I follow some wonderful authors who offer vlogs (video blogs) on this platform. It's also good for hosting your book trailer. YouTube does attract trolls (people who leave nasty comments just for the sake of upsetting you) so don't post vlogs unless you're thick-skinned.

In this digital age the culture of writers has evolved to include social media, it's important that we evolve to fit within this emerging culture.

And for some online fun, why not take part in this blog challenge: Write a short story for halloween with a romantic spin and post your link on Romantic Friday Writers:

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Just Breathe

A-Z is over. Long live A-Z.

What a huge month it was, posting almost every day! Made it through, but admit I feel a little burned out now. Still feel like I owe so many bloggers comments. I had sworn not to partake in any more challenges. Ever. Hmm, how long will that last?

Not long. Came across this post and thought, YES! It's exactly what I need. I'm feeling quite pressured with my time and writing at the moment. Finally came up with a plot to use for my Year of the YA course, got started and now feel completely flat about it. Ugh. I need inspiration, motivation... something.

Perhaps this will help:

Feeling stressed? Ready to slow down? Show up for yourself and join us for A Month of Meditation: http://www.jodichapman.com/meditate/

Jodie Chapman is hosting a challenge where you make the commitment to meditate every day. It can be a long meditation or just 5 minutes. Whatever you can fit in. Well, the 1st of May has come and gone, but I'm still trying this. I could do with a month of quiet reflection. How about you?

I won't blog daily, but will keep you updated on what comes from my meditating. Tonight I intend to use a recording (available on iTunes and probably Audible):

Maybe clearing my mind will help me make a decision about my troublesome YA plot.

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Q is for Quest

The Hunger Games - a modern quest story

Emily has an assignment to plot out a quest novel (what a cool teacher she must have!) and write the last chapter. This is very good timing for me, as I needed a Q word for today.

The Quest is a common story structure involving a character on a search for... something. It can even be an internal something (forgiveness, confidence, etc). Or it might be a literal quest (find the holy grail, return the sword of Okinesphere to its rightful place, save a princes). Often this is referred to as The Hero's Journey. Basically the 'hero' (they might not start out very heroic) will receive a 'call to action' (sometimes a shove) and be on their quest, with some magical help/advice from a wizard/elder. They will face challenges, opponents and bad hair days. The story will peak when they are in their darkest time (down a pit, facing an uber-bad guy, or just apparently failing all over) it will seem there is no hope for our hero to succeed. But then they find that inner strength/forgotten sword of Okinesphere/Bad guys secret weakness to overcome this doom and gloom stage and rise up to fight one more time. The final battle usually ends in success (but not always) and the hero returns to the start of the story, only this time changed forever in some way. 

There are whole books dedicated to this structure and I sometimes use it for my writing workshops for kids.

This is a must see learning site - you can choose your characters and fill out the story prompts to plot out your hero's journey. Designed for school kids, but awesome for any writer, especially beginners wanting a helpful push. Check out:

ReadWriteThink - The Hero's Journey

And here's a chart you can fill out for your own Hero's Journey - just click on it for the full size and print (I found this at ReadingArt.Info):

If you like the picture of Katniss Everdeen, you'll love this blog that shows how The Hunger Games fits the Hero's Journey. After all, Katniss answers a call to action when her baby sister is put in danger.

The Gallery of Heroes - Katniss Everdeen

How would you go with Emily's assignment - could you write your last chapter first? I've never tried it before, but sounds like a challenge!

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Writer Reading

I'm in the middle of reading Be The Monkey which is a conversation on the future of publishing and ebooks between J A Konrath and Barry Eilser. I've seen this book raised online often, so I may be the last writer to read it.

The text explores the growing popularity for digital books vs traditional publishing and they certainly put forward a good argument for self-publishing. It's definitely worth reading if you are uncertain of which path to take or just want to support your decision to produce an ebook rather than paper copy of your novel.

The speakers are well informed on the subject, J A Konrath running the popular blog:

A Newbie's Guide to Publishing

And Barry Eilser hosts:

The Heart of the Matter

There is a lot of talk about the future of books, will paper eventually die out? I doubt it, I love books as do most writers, but I love ebooks too. Probably like most of you, I worry for the popularity of the traditional book, and most definitely for those cute little boutique bookstores I love to frequent, and I've found some new ones up here in Brisbane. But what about the traditional publishers? Does anyone worry for them?There are some that I love and look for in bookstores. One of my favourites was Black Dog Books - why? Because they had a little dog as their logo. Now they've merged into Walker Books (which are still a great children's book publisher). I'd be sad to see some of these publishing houses go. I guess they can turn to publishing digital books, but once again, what about the bookstores? What will they sell?

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Scene Change

I only re-sparked my passion in writing a couple of years ago when I moved to my lovely country town outside of Canberra. Long cold winters by the fire provided plenty of time and ambience to work on my manuscripts.

It's no coincidence that my character (Kitty Walker) finds herself moving to a small country town in DOG SHOW DETECTIVE. I wanted to share the awe of driving pass cows in the morning, something that only a city-raised kid could understand.

The kids in my high school have been great inspiration for me too, country kids have a certain quirkiness and brashness that is endearing. I've been lucky enough to have a great writers centre not too far off in Canberra (ACT Writers) and many of you know I attend workshops religiously.

If this were a story it'd be time to shake things up. So we will.

Twice now I've flown up to Brisbane when the annual CYA Writers Conference, and I've made some good friends. So, although I hate change (here comes the inciting incident), when hubby was offered a position he really wanted at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, I wasn't too horrified.

I'll miss the cows, the country kids and the wide spaces, but I'll love being close to my dad (also a budding writer) and joining in the writing activities with Queensland Writers Centre (I've become a member already!). I can't wait to find a critique group to join too :)

My plan next year is to cut back on my teaching hours and step up my writing schedule. I is gunna be a real writer!

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Surviving a Pitch Session

I have pitch-fear!

Next week I pitch. Not the safe kind of online, or written pitches I've tried thus far... no... I pitch in person. I really didn't think it would be a big deal. After all, I've sent my first ten pages in, they'll either like it or they won't. So what's 15minutes chatting with a publisher?

Gulp.

Now that it's fast approaching I am in panic mode. Eeek! What if I just make a fool of myself - and not in the good way I usually intend to make a fool of myself? So, in preparation for the CYA Conference in Brisbane, I am searching for advice on pitching in person. Here's what I've come up with so far:

Don't:

• Act like they are providing a service to you. You are not doing them a favour, treat them like you have a product to sell to them. (Fabianspace)


• Assume they will make allowances for you because your work is just so special, play by the rules. (Fabianspace)


• Spend the whole time talking about your manuscript and going over what they've already read. Make a personal connection. (Nathan Bransford)

Do:

• Welcome feedback. You don't have to implement every change suggested to your manuscript but take it all in for serious consideration - this person knows what they're talking about and the feedback is generously provided to help you. (Nathan Bransford)


• Know the summary or synopsis of your story by heart. You might be asked to refresh their memory. (Redlines and Deadlines)


• Have a synopsis handy for any other manuscripts you have ready or nearly finished. You might have time to discuss those. 


• Do your homework. Know a little about the publishing house you are pitching to. I'm pitching to Black Dog Books and know that they have novels aimed the same age group as my manuscript and in the same genre. I can specifically point to some of their current books and say my novel is like a cross between this novel and this one. At the very least, know that they publish the sort of genre you produce. (Writing World)

That's all I got - any suggestions????

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World Building for Fantasy Novels

You've got the whole world in your hands...

Wow. Another amazing writers workshop.

This time the workshop was held in Canberra and it was run by the extremely talented and popular author, Fiona McIntosh.

World building for fantasy novels was the focus of this workshop, and my head is still spinning from all the great advice Fiona generously shared. I have pages and pages of notes on this topic now, but here are just a few points Fiona got across about world building:

• You need to introduce your fantasy world in the first chapter. Readers are impatient now and want immediate satisfaction, so along with the hook, character and inciting incident, they want a sense of setting. In my story THE COSTUME MAKER, my characters are sent from this world to the fantasy world. I can get around this by using a prologue that occurs in that world.


• Don't get hung up on the details of your world. Yes you should know your world and love it, but ultimately readers purchase books because of the characters and story. In some of the best Fantasy novels you barely notice the world because you are so lost in the story.


• Read novels in the genre and the sub genre you wish to write in. Focus on the way they set up their world.


• Don't over-describe everything in your world. Assume your reader is intelligent and imaginative and can fill in the gaps. They've seen a blue sky before, don't spend five pages on it.


• Culture is part of the world. Think about food sources, language, authority, etc.

Okay there was loads and loads more, but you'll have to attend one of Fiona's amazing workshops to learn it all. I can tell you she has inspired me to take a more professional approach to my writing. Fiona shared with us her schedule for a great balance between writing as a profession, family and life in general. I'm keen to get productive!

And to brush up on my reading I've got The Whisperer on my bookshelf:

Plus I've just ordered Royal Exile, the first in the Valisar trilogy - what amazing cover art!

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Science in Writing

As part of my endeavour to immerse myself in the culture of writing, I attended a FREE seminar held at CSIRO (initialism for some sciencey department) titled:

Get Your Facts Right: How science can help you write your book.

This was organised by my local writers centre: ACT Writers Centre

The speakers covered topics about weather predictions for 2050. It was great information if you intend to ever include a storm, flood, drought or fire in your story. For instance, did you know that if the Great Barrier Reef was to die off and no longer exist, that storm surges along the coast of Queensland would be much worse?

I also found it interesting to learn that if global warming keeps affecting Australian summers and heats reach low 50 degrees in summer, we could still survive but our lifestyle and culture would change. We'd have to do all outdoor activities at night when it's cooler and try stay still and indoors during the day - good weather for vampires? And that you might first notice the onset of a deadly heatwave by the unusually high death of parrots?

There were also experts in the field of forensic science. One interesting story was about a copper that killed his ex-wife and tried to make it look like suicide. The investigating policeman said he wouldn't have been suspicious at all, until he stepped into the bathroom. The toilet seat was up in a house where a woman lived alone. That little clue might not be evidence, but sparks suspicion and then the police can search for some evidence to convict.

I was surprised to learn that even if the police witness a crime taking place, they still need to gather forensic evidence to convince a jury. And that scientists are working on one day being able to produce a picture of how a suspect would look based on their DNA sample.

Have you joined your writer's centre? They can let you know whenever there are writers events you might find useful.

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Build Your Author Marketing Plan

Today I have to share a blog post I came across all about building an author platform. I HAVE to. Anthony at Book Cover Cafe posted the best advice on building your author platform I have ever come across (and you know I come across a lot).

Included in Anthony's post is a marketing map. Make sure you go there today, click on the map for the bigger size pic and print it. You can even laminate it - I won't think you're odd. This post brainstorms every avenue you can promote your writing and how to go about it. It's gold. Go get it.

How to get the most from your writer or author platform

And tomorrow I'm off to Supernova! A huge pop-culture expo that will be filled with books and writers and other fun stuff. My girls are getting dressed up as book characters for the event - you can read their posts about it at Paper Dolls. I'm also attending a writer's workshop in the morning on writing a series. Of course I'll let you know how that goes.

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The Post-Rapture Post

Glad to see everyone got through the Rapture (surely that close call will have been enough of a warning to put a stop to my writing procrastinations?).

Yesterday I spent the proposed last day at a YA Workshop hosted by Jeni Mawter (check out her website for her books and writing tips). I'll blog more about that and my trip to Sydney later, but one thing I wanted to raise was this continuous conversation amongst writers about the role of traditional publishing, the gatekeepers and the self-publising options. Perhaps it was just Rapture for those gatekeepers? 

Until yesterday, my position on traditional publishing vs self-publishing for my own situation was that:

It is possible to produce a quality ebook and publish it on Amazon and like sites, you can even have paperback copies produced. The big if, is if you are prepared to put in a LOT of work. Once your book is written, it needs to be edited professionally or at least screened by many readers, until it is as good as you could possibly get it. Then you need great cover art, this is where I find a lot of self-publishers let their book down. You need an online presence and you need your ebook formatted. And of course you have to promote your book with your target market in mind. At least there are no query letters or synopsis' needed.

BUT. Being accepted by a publishing house will lift your status as a writer. There are still many people who are wary of self-publishing. As Jeni Mawter said in her workshop, the problem is there is too much white noise on Amazon, there needs to be a way to sort through the masses to find quality self-published books. This is starting to sort itself out with reviews and blogs to recommend books. The consumer may become the new gatekeeper and you'll have to work even harder to win them over. A publisher will do all the work to produce your product, and it will be available in Bookstores. That was my biggie. I was leaning towards traditional publishing because I loved the idea of seeing my book in a bookstore.

Now my stand is a little shaky. Jeni pointed out that bookstores are in serious trouble. We already knew about the Borders situation (or you can read my blog on Books without Borders). With the ebook outselling paper books, and the introduction of the book apps on iTunes, bookstores may not be the best location for selling books (this hurts), especially for debut writers. I LOVE bookstores, I know most of you LOVE bookstores, but eventually, we might not be enough to keep them :(

So now I'm immersing myself into research and opinions on the traditional publishing vs self-publishing options. Here's what I've found so far - what are your thoughts, or are you as uncertain as me?

The New York Times:

The Case for Self Publishing?

Nathan Bransford:

Self Publishing vs Traditional Publishing: Which way will make you more money?

The Literary Analyst:

Self Publishing vs Traditional Publishing (the pros and cons)

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Z is for Zany Bloggers

I really thought I'd be blogging Z is for Zip it this post, 'cause I get a bit lazy by letter 26, and the only book I've read on the craft of writing starting with Z is Zen in the Art of Writing, but I blogged about that in the last A-Z challenge in:

Z is for Zen

But then came the Zany. Alex J Cavanaugh is hosting another (yes, another) blogfest and this time it's all about fun and games. Don't start shaking, I know what you're thinking. You'll get a rest, this is not until June, click on the linked picture to go to Alex's site, or sign up below:

Now, I intend to cash in on a few owed Zzzzzzs. 

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Y is for YA Writing

I'm very excited :)

I need to take my girls to Sydney in May for a dinosaur show, and it just happens to be the same weekend there are some great events happening for the Sydney Writers Festival!

I've signed up for a day's workshop on writing for YAs hosted by Jeni Mawter:

Acne is Optional, Attitude is Not: Writing for Young Adults

Do you try to attend workshops, or writers festivals? I get so much out of them, even if the information is not new (and there's always something new), I get so motivated to write by being in the presence of other writers. If you need an excuse here's my post:

8 Reasons to Attend Writers Festivals

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W is for Writing Manuals

I decided for W, I would do a few of my all time favourite books on writing. If you're a regular, you may have seen them mentioned before. These are the ones I think are brilliant value for money, broken down to function or genre:

Writing for Children:

The Writer's Guide to Crafting Stories for Children by Nancy Lamb

I love this book so much, I'm re-reading it at the moment. It advises you all steps and aspects of writing a story for kids (and YAs). This guide even devotes a whole chapter to finding inspiration and ways to turn an idea into a story. There's also a great section helping you through the mid-story crisis, where you need to introduce momentum, and how to make your scenes page-turners. You'll learn about plots and sub-plots, suitable characters, dialogue and how to work your way through getting stuck with you WIP. It's easy to read and has lots of examples.

Mystery Writing:

Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel by Hallie Ephron

This book is like a workbook and guide in one. Ephron provides charts and worksheets for your to fill in along the way as well as exercises for you tighten your mystery novel. A lot of planning goes into mysteries, you have to have your villains, detectives and victims all sorted, not to mention the clues and red herrings. Say a body turns up dead in your first page - have you bothered to do a character profile on that person? If you go to the extra trouble, you'll find more motives and suspects you can weave through your story.

If you are writing a mystery, you may get some help from my previous post:

13 Best Links for Mystery Writers

Fantasy Writing:

Adventures in Fantasy by John Gust

A text book designed to be used in the classroom, this book is actually great for all ages. The main premise is to start your Fantasy story by creating a map of your world. From there your landscapes and natural elements will help you decide how to populate that world and what ecological conflicts your characters could face. To read more of my review, you can see my previous post here. And for those who read it previously, I did overcome my problem of the Kindle version having worksheets I couldn't print; I view the page on my Kindle for Mac, then open the program Preview (this is Mac, not sure for PC users sorry) and take a snapshot of the page by selection.

Young Writers:

Juicy Writing by Brigid Lowry

This was a hard one to pick because there's a few books I love for young writers, but this one is new for me and I'm loving the practical yet motivating exercises in there. Adult writers could enjoy it too.

There are lots more books I love, but this blogpost would get way too long, so, I may have to save some for another time. Only X, Y and Z to go!

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N is for NaNoWriMo

In 2009, I signed up for a contest called NaNoWriMo. NaNoWriMo is held over the month of November each year and the idea is that you start and finish a 50,000 word novel (minimum) in that month. It seems fast paced and the emphasis is definately on quantity rather than quality, but oh the whimsical fun!

I mentioned that this is a contest, but with a difference:

Who are you competing against? Yourself. If you beat the hurdles and excuses that prevent 50,000 words, then you win.

What do you win? Other than being listed as a NaNoWriMo Winner and receive some cool badges for your blog, you win 50,000 words of a first draft for your novel. Come join the madness, and friend me at NaNoWriMo. November will be upon us before you know it.

Fact is, I usually write two manuscripts a year. One takes me 11 months and the other takes me 4 weeks. Why? Deadlines. I make sacrifices and push myself for November, also my family and friends understand my pressure and give me the space and support to write. For some reason I just can't drag that on for the rest of the year.

In 2009 I worked out my plot by starting with a brainstorming (also known as Clustering) session. 2010, I had my story prompt from a character exercise I did at the CYA Writer's Conference (you can see my post about it at Character to Plot Workshop).

Already a NaNoWriMo participant? Did you know NaNoWriMo have a Young Writers Program? It allows the junior authors to become involved as well. They don't have to do 50k of words though, they can pick their own limit. Last year my girls did 6,000 words, Emily with her paranormal mystery (about dragons used for murder) and Matilda with her Greek God mystery (Greekafied). 

There are some great resources on the Young Writers Program site for beginners too. I found the High School Workbook extremely helpful. It will take you step by step through the process of setting up your plot and characters in a lovely simple format. And it's free! 

My tactics: 

• Don't tackle anything that needs constant research, and if it does, skip that and fix it later (you can edit in December, you won't have time in November)

• Plan your plot - If I try to write constantly for 50,000 I'm likely to start with a family story and end up with space porn, but only after going through a period of postmodern zombie/military action. I need structure.

• Don't start something you've been planning. Start something new that you are not yet attached to. Come December you can get crazy about your plot and characters, but you won't have time to dwell in November - there's writin' to do!

• Tell everyone you're doing it. Put it on your blog. It will make it a lot harder for you to drop out after 539 words.

• Drag your friends and family into it, or join a region group (you can do that on the site). If you have writing buddies you will urge each other on and help with plot barriers. 

What I love most about this challenge is that it is international and although there are would-be authors struggling over manuscripts every day, now I feel part of that group knowing we are all busily typing at once. Join me... join me.. join me....

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L is for Learning to Write

My thoughts on the topic of learning to write is that it is the information and skill that matters, not the process in receiving it. And, ideally, we would gain information from academic resources and by hands-on training. I'm a bit of a study bug, I love doing courses on just about anything, but mostly writing. Here are some ways I think we can learn the craft:

Degrees in Literature/Writing. I've seen some writers poo-ha this method, saying that you can't learn to write by studying literature and you don't need a university degree to write. Of course you don't need one - but I learned a lot about the structure of novels and the various genres by studying. It's not for everyone, but it is rewarding.

Online Courses. I took on a course with Sydney Writers Centre, they have many great courses on creative writing, including Writing Books for Young Adults and Children. You get great feedback on your submissions and  lots of online support.

Self-paced Courses. This takes some time-management skills. I've enjoyed Holly Lisle's How to Think Sideways as a way to learn while I write. The information is extensive and the activities are directly related to your work in progress. My favourite self-paced course though is Lisle's How to Review Your Novel - this is an amazing course that teaches you absolutely the BEST way to edit that first draft.

Writers Festivals. I went to my first last year. It was AMAZING. I picked up so much in the CYA Conference in just one day, I'll be back again this year. I'm hoping to attend a few more this year too (if I can get the time from work). If you need to know why you should attend these festivals, check out my post 8 Reasons to Attend Writers Festivals.

Books on Writing. There are so many available (and so many on my bookshelf), that I won't list them, but you can judge books by the star rating that Amazon provides and read the reviews to see if they are helpful (or search through my blog, I often list the ones I recommend). Choose books that address your weak points. If you are new to writing you might want to try some writing exercises, or maybe you need help with plotting, or dialogue. There's a book for every step of writing a novel.

Audiobooks. How have I gone so long in my life before discovering these? There are some great books that include writing exercises. Those ones seem to work best for audio. The text book information is hard to focus on for long periods, but some run like classes. The best thing about audiobooks is the time-saving, you can listen while in the car, walking the dog, washing the dishes, etc.

Blogs. There is an endless depth of knowledge being shared through blogs. I am amazed and warmed by how friendly and supportive the writing community is. Mostly we search through and blog information is disposable, but when you see something really helpful, bookmark it or print it off and file these in categories such as plotting, character, dialogue, editing... etc. So when you do need help in that area, the information is easy to find again. I create pages of links under those headings, so I can use them again and can share them with you. For example, here is my list of links for Novel Writing Structure.

Reading Fiction. Take notes while you read of any great examples of dialogue, metaphors, writing style, etc. Try to mimic your favourite passages, this is a great exercise in strengthening your own writing style. Make lists of what you think the author did well and what you would have done differently.

There are many more ways to learn writing such as finding a great mentor, receiving feedback, practicing, etc.  You can check out a few more resources at 13 Best Resources for Writers.

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K is for Kindle Books for Writers

I'm a Kindle addict. Which comes as no surprise, I'm also a book addict and an audiobook addict. But, in particular, I am an addict of books on the craft of writing. Here are some I've found on Kindle for 99c. There's lots out there, but these are the ones I think show potential (I haven't read them all yet, but am reading  How to Write a Great Query Letter at the moment).

How to Write a Great Query Letter by Noah Lukeman

Write or Die by Scott Nicholson

Publishing Exposed by Daryl Sedore

Are You Still Submitting Your Work to a Traditional Publisher? by Edward Patterson

Ask a Literary Agent by Noah Lukeman

From Words to Brain by Liva Blackburne

The Nasty Little Writing Book by M. Rovenhauer

A Book Inside by Carol Denbow

Rather than seek help for my addiction, I choose to lure you in as well, come, buy, enjoy...

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F is for Fantasy Writing

Tonight I'm blogging from my hotel room, while away at a conference. My internet is a little dodgy, but I'll try and get around to everyone's blog as soon as I can.

My first Fantasy novel I read reluctantly, but then fell in love and had to read the whole series. That was Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials.

The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman

Then, for my first NaNoWriMo novel, I decided to try and write a fantasy novel, and now I'm editing The Costume Maker. One of the tools I'm using is the book Adventures in Fantasy:

I blogged about this helpful book in A is for Amazing Writing Books.

A key element of fantasy is magic. Here are some interesting things I learned about magic:

• Magic must have limits. You can't just whip out a wand to solve every problem. I like books that have a magic that first appears useless, but later its worth will save the day.
• There must be rules for magic. There must be costs. Many fantasy stories will show magic as physically draining to the user. In The Picture of Dorian Grey, the protagonist manages to stay young, while his portrait ages instead. But the young man gives up his soul for this magic. The price must be high, otherwise the protagonist would not question if it were necessary to use magic.
• Often magic will appear in the 'other world'. This is the magic's natural setting - an enchanted land. This is changing though. With Paranormal novels becoming so popular, often contemporary protagonists posses some magical gift withing our everyday urban setting.
• Magic is not good or bad, only the way it's employed will decide if it is white or black magic.
• Magic is old. Traditional 'other worlds' in fantasy are pre-industrialization. Meideval times host dragons, and Harry Potter, although contemporary, goes to a school in a historical building where old dusty bound books rule over technology.

For some more information (from people who know a lot more about fantasy than me) check out these sites:

www.sfsite.com/columns/amy26.htm

www.writing-world.com/sf/index.shtml

The next fantasy novel I'll read is:

Switched by Amanda Hocking

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