How diverse is your bookcase?
In this week’s #podcast I give you a nudge (and some resources) to read a little more widely.
Plus: a Q&A about how to #write with passion when you’re a cool cat.
Resources:
Mystery & Mayhem Diverse Thrillers for 2020
Roxane Gay’s Gay Mag on Medium
What writers/resources would YOU recommend? Leave a comment:
Sometimes the story we tell ourselves is as important as anything else we do. What story will you tell yourself in 2021?
Plus: a question, from Becky, about the challenges of moving from non-fiction writing to fiction
Links
Download The Planning Worksheet: http://storyaday.org/planner
Welcome to the Serious Writers’ Accountability Group!
Post your goals for this month and let us know how you got on with last month’s goals.
Leave a comment below telling us how you got on last month, and what you plan to do next month, then check back in on the first of each month, to see how everyone’s doing.
(It doesn’t have to be fiction. Feel free to use this group to push you in whatever creative direction you need.)
Did you live up to your commitment from last month? Don’t remember what you promised to do? Check out the comments from last month.
And don’t forget to celebrate with/encourage your fellow SWAGr-ers on their progress!
Download your SWAGr Tracking Sheet now, to keep track of your commitments this month
****
Examples of Goals Set By SWAGr-ers in previous months
So, what will you accomplish this month? Leave your comment below (use the drop-down option to subscribe to the comments and receive lovely, encouraging notifications from fellow StADa SWAGr-ers!)
(Next check-in, 1st of the month. Tell your friends!)
What will it take to get you writing through the next few months? I have some thoughts..
Also: I answer questions about getting through the middle of a project and about conquering procrastination
LINKS
Your Writing Life Series
This time last year I wrote about middles with the aim of helping you master your mindset.
This year I’m thinking more about the actual writing: how to write the middle of a story.
The inspiration for this prompt is unashamedly borrowed from James Scott Bell’s immensely readable ebook Write Your Novel From The Middle. It’s well worth the few dollars to pick up a copy of this book.
Even if you don’t have your copy yet, you can use Bell’s revelation that the middle of a story often involves a moment of introspection, to strengthen your short story writing today.
Write a literal or figurative Mirror Moment into the middle of your story.
I often talk about the middle of a story as ‘the muddy middle’, but I prefer Blake Snyder’s label “fun and games”.
This week I talk about what the middle of your story has to do, why it’s hard, and how you can make it easier.
AND I answer StoryADay-er Jacqui’s question about how to get out of a funk and start writing again.
Resources:
James Scott Bell’s Write Your Novel From The Middle https://amzn.to/2I9liuE
Jessica Brody’s Save The Cat Writes A Novel https://amzn.to/36yixff
Gwen Hayes’s Romancing The Beat https://amzn.to/2UoXnug
LINKS
What do you need to know about the I, WRITER Course?
https://storyaday.org/iwriter
All the prompts this month are designed to stand alone or support your novel habit! Use them to spark standalone stories or to unstick your work-in-progress.
Just because it’s short doesn’t mean a story can’t be complex.
Write a story in which the protagonist and antagonist are two sides of the same coin.
In Part 2 of my interview with Angela Ackerman, co-author of The Emotion Thesaurus and host of Writers Helping Writers, we talk about how to use details to write great characters, immerse readers in your story, and even figure out your plot.
Links:
Writers Helping Writers: http://stada.me/whw
One Stop For Writers: http://stada.me/osfw
This month’s writing prompts all acknowledge the fact that November belongs to novelists. Whether you write longer fiction or you don’t you can use this month’s prompts to nudge you forward in your writing practice.
Take an idea you have thought “I could write a novel about that” and test it as a short story
Welcome to the Serious Writers’ Accountability Group!
Post your goals for this month and let us know how you got on with last month’s goals.
Leave a comment below telling us how you got on last month, and what you plan to do next month, then check back in on the first of each month, to see how everyone’s doing.
(It doesn’t have to be fiction. Feel free to use this group to push you in whatever creative direction you need.)
Did you live up to your commitment from last month? Don’t remember what you promised to do? Check out the comments from last month.
And don’t forget to celebrate with/encourage your fellow SWAGr-ers on their progress!
Download your SWAGr Tracking Sheet now, to keep track of your commitments this month
****
Examples of Goals Set By SWAGr-ers in previous months
So, what will you accomplish this month? Leave your comment below (use the drop-down option to subscribe to the comments and receive lovely, encouraging notifications from fellow StADa SWAGr-ers!)
(Next check-in, 1st of the month. Tell your friends!)
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