Grit, with its intensity, diligence, perseverance, and passion-against-all odds qualities, is a character trait I most heartily pursue and value. I have tried, not only to apply grit to my relationships and dreams, but also to nurture it in the lives my children and students. At times however, it feels like grit punches you in the face. Some weeks, its not just one punch, but many-like grit's suddenly turned into Cobra Kai's John Kreese and is relentlessly driving fists into you without mercy.
General
National Suicide Prevention
September 6th through 12th was National Suicide Prevention week. Many times I've heard this about suicide: "how selfish." But during National Suicide Prevention week, a post from TWLOHA (To Write Love On Her Arms), really stuck with me and challenged that line of thinking. I forget the woman's exact words, but they went something like: … Continue reading National Suicide Prevention
Stay with me 10 minutes
Looking through old blog drafts, I found this one from when Maile was ten. Was that really almost six years ago? Wow! Hard to believe.
Writing Journey Update
Sorry for the lack of updates. Thank you to those of you who have asked about the blog, and encouraged me to maintain it. Since Nanowrimo last fall, this is what's happened: I've revised Mirror of Sparrows twiceI participated in a fantastic plot workshopI submitted what I have to my freelance editor This is what … Continue reading Writing Journey Update
On why rough drafts should be kept secret.
For writers' sakes, it's important to distinguish between what words, especially rough drafts, are meant for the public and what words might be best kept private. Private writing should be guarded with care. Why? You wouldn't want a stranger or unkind person reading your journal (or anyone, for that matter), right? For the same reason, … Continue reading On why rough drafts should be kept secret.
National Suicide Prevention Week, 9/10-9/16
This week is National Suicide Prevention Week, and it's been both challenging and beautiful. Challenging: just barely even teenagers, yet so many young people are hurting. already. Did you know that suicide is the second leading cause of death among those 10 to 24 years old? Chances are, you know someone who desperately needs encouragement. … Continue reading National Suicide Prevention Week, 9/10-9/16
Structuring A Novel: Chapters
Love this…wish I had read it two years ago : )
This post is for beginners who are just starting to develop their first ideas. Any authors who successfully wrote a book might have different methods – I’d be happy to hear about them.
When you get an idea for a novel it seems easy to develop it but once you start working on it, it turns into a jungle, a mess. You might find yourself trying to figure out how simple things work or trying to find explanations for some complex scenes you want to write but aren’t sure how they really fit in.
When plotting your novel you decide on where the hits are (emotional hits, twists, etc), but to make some order in all of it, you should spend some more time developing the structure, the plot and the story-lines.
I have a word-count method I use when writing stories and novels (helps more with novels) that is…
View original post 490 more words
Good writing, like a favorite pair of jeans
I think that a person's favorite kind writing is like a favorite pair of jeans. Everyone has a different style. Anyway, I've been trying to determine what I think makes for awesome writing so that I can mimic it. {BTW, do you have book recommendations? I'm especially looking for 3rd person POV. Probably YA. Probably fantasy. … Continue reading Good writing, like a favorite pair of jeans
Fiction vs. Non-fiction
This week, I found out that 80% of fiction is purchased by women. What draws people to fiction vs non-fiction? I guess men like real stuff...but, a lot of times, fiction has more in common with non-fiction than people think!
The joys of cheesy romantic Christmas movies!
In order to decompress from my lack of progress on the one-millionth rewrite of the first quarter of my novel, I have started watching some of the cheesy romantic Christmas movies that Netflix has to offer. It was by accident, really. If you can push through the first twenty minutes of each of these movies, … Continue reading The joys of cheesy romantic Christmas movies!
Vanessa Fowler 