No Tuesday guest blogger this week so thought I’d address a topic that’s been on my mind for several months. While I haven’t done as much reading over the summer as I’d hoped, I have read the beginning of many stories and chosen to pass on them. They might have been great stories but they…
No, Tuesday guest blogger this week. The last session of the summer writing retreat is over half way done and after a week break, I’ll then be back to focusing on teaching the last classes for 2020, two of them will be regular workshops, while the other four are boot camps. I usually tell…
Read more Upcoming Writing Classes and A New Format for 2021
Welcome to May. Some people thought April moved along slowly but for me, it flew by. I couldn’t believe that I was already posting a final message to my April students. Plotting Your Novel boot camp kicks off on Monday. We still have some spaces open if you’re interested. We decided to cancel…
Do you often suffer from a sagging middle? I know that sounds like the beginning of an ad or sales pitch for some miracle weight loss or exercise cure but it’s a huge problem for authors. And no, not because we sit on our butts a lot. I’m talking about the story that starts perfectly…
I’ve been working on the lessons (and gift) for the upcoming free class I’ll be teaching so thought I’d post something about it here along with more details about the retreat I’m offering next summer (and just in case you don’t take the class). Both the free mini-retreat and summer retreat are exclusive to…
I’m teaching a class on plotting a novel and while I was putting together notes for the first lesson, something dawned upon me. I shared it with the students and I thought maybe you’d like to hear it too. I always hear people say their biggest problem is plotting but I don’t think that’s always…
Not sure if you’re a plotter or a punster, author Judy Penz Sheluk might have the solution… As a pantser (someone who writes without an outline, outside of a rough idea of where the story might be going), I’ve always envied plotters (someone who actually knows where the story is going before they begin to…
Read more Plotter vs. Panster or How I Became a Plotser by Judy Penz Sheluk
Authors should never stop learning (at least that’s what I think). and last year I bought a copy of a book called Take Off Your Pants. Now if you’re puzzled by the title let me say it’s all about plotting and it’s one of the best I’ve ever read on the topic. I enjoyed…
Read more Take Off Your Pants-An Interview with Libbie Hawker
