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Writing Words - writing it is the only way of getting it written
If the answer to either is yes, you'll be pleased to know that both How to Think Sideways and How to Revise Your Novel are open for new students again.
In these courses, Holly teaches you everything about her writing and editing process. I'm currently revising one of my NaNoWriMo novels for HTRYN and am happy with the progress I've made so far. If you're serious about writing, these courses are worth the investment.
In response to the Guardian's Ten Rules for Writing Fiction from last Saturday (a must read), Salon.com ran an excellent piece on Tuesday: A Reader's Advice to Writers.
Laura Miller writes she never wrote a novel and doesn't have plans to ever do so, but she's read thousands of them and started many more which she didn't finish because they weren't great. She's also talked to other readers and their explanations why they liked or didn't like a book. In her own words: "I can tell you why I keep reading, and why I don't, why I recommend one book to my fellow readers, but not another." She goes on to list her five recommendations to budding novelists.
Excellent advice, and just in time for NaNoEdMo. Bookmark the post or print it out and stick it somewhere you can read it from your desk. NaNoWriMo is all about you getting your story out, NaNoEdMo is about making it appealing to readers.
Any budding playwrights among my readers? I've got a £500 drama award for you: The Windsor Fringe Drama Award, deadline in two weeks today on March 11.
The competition is open to amateur playwrights who can submit one one-act play with a maximum of six characters, no longer than 30 minutes. The three winning plays will be performed during Windsor Fringe from October 7 to October 9 and the winner of the £500 prize will be announced on the last night.
If you need a bit of help with polishing your script, check out The Perfect 10 from the BBC Writersroom (ten posts focusing on how to get your scrip accepted by the BBC which might be useful for stage plays, too).
Print out your manuscript. Editing on screen doesn't work.
Get pens and markers in different colours and develop a colour-coding system. I highlight bits that I like, as well - it's useful to remind yourself that not everything you wrote sucks.
If you have time, read your story before you start editing it. This helps with the next point.
Know where you're heading: What's the story you wanted to tell? What do you have to do to tell it?
You wrote a beautiful scene that has nothing to do with your story? Cut it. Save it for another story.
Before you start making edits in your story file, save it as a new version. If you delete anything by accident, you'll have the original file to get it back.
Be ruthless. If you think something doesn't work, cut it.
Remember: Editing makes your story stronger.
Roast Books is an independent publisher that specialises in shorter fiction. They have published six novellas and a box set of 26 short stories called "An A-Z of Possible Worlds".
From March 2010 on, Roast Books open their very own cabinet of curiosities: the Short Story Cabinet. Authors can send their stories for consideration, the ten best go on the web page and readers then vote for the 'curiosity of the month'. To me, it sounds like a good opportunity to establish a relationship with a new publisher open to off-the-beaten-path stories.
For submission details, check the Short Story Cabinet page on www.roastbooks.org.
SavvyAuthors.com are running an interesting mini-workshop: Crash Revision, presented by Holly Lisle. It will run from March 28 - April 1 and is $5 for non-members and free for members. Sounds good, doesn't it?
If you realise half-way through NaNoEdMo that you need help with the revision process, Crash revisions might be just what you're looking for.
Mark Twain said: "I notice that you use plain, simple language, short words and brief sentences. That is the way to write English - it is the modern way and the best way. Stick to it; don't let fluff and flowers and verbosity creep in. When you catch an adjective, kill it. No, I don't mean utterly, but kill most of them - then the rest will be valuable. They weaken when they are close together. They give strength when they are wide apart. An adjective habit, or a wordy, diffuse, flowery habit, once fastened upon a person, is as hard to get rid of as any other vice."
A bit of handy advice for NaNoEdMo and editing in general, I reckon.
Quick post outside the posting schedule because I just realised that it's only three weeks until NaNoEdMo.
NaNoEdMo is the perfect opportunity for all NaNo novelists to edit their November novels. One thing that appeals to writers during NaNoWriMo is the group support. NaNoEdMo does just that for editing. The challenge is to log 50 hours of editing on a manuscript of fiction - it doesn't have to be a NaNoWriMo novel.
Do you have a short story on the theme of unity or union? Can you write one in nine days? Then enter the Writers & Artists' Yearbook 2010 short story competition. It's free and the first prize looks rather good: £500 in prize money and a place on the Arvon foundation residential writing course. The submission deadline is February 14th.
I decided to do NaBloPoMo this month to give the blog a boost. And not only did I post every day, I wrote quite a few useful posts. If to nobody else, the posts were useful to me because I found out about more writing magazines, discovered writing competitions and set myself writing goals, among other things.
The NaBloPoMo theme this month was BEST. I didn't manage to get 'best' in every blog post title but it made it in the body text every day
[ Click here to read more ]
I first started writing online when websites where still static. I had my own website and had to change the HTML for the site every time I posted a new entry. Back then, I called it my online column. So I've been around for a while, even if my performance here in the last two year and four months was rather on and off. I'm qualified to give blogging advice, even if I say so myself.*
So here's the best blogging advice I have (in no particular order
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There are a number of things that make good gifts for writers: a quality pen, Moleskine notebooks, a subscription for a writer's magazine or a writing course. I can't think of any writer who would not be happy to receive any of these gifts.
The best gift for a writer (at least for this particular writer) are vouchers for a well-stocked bookshop, though. As far as shopping is concerned, there is nothing that I like better than spending an afternoon in a big bookshop. If I can walk out with a bag-full of new books, I'll be a very happy writer.
There is lots of information on writing available online, but there are times when it's nice to have a magazine you can leaf through. If you can't access a computer during the day (or have to watch which websites you visit), a writing magazine may be the answer. Here are a few good ones to consider:
Writers' Forum - This is my favourite. It's full of advice, they run short story and poetry competitions every month and they list writing courses and writing competitions. Writers' Forum also accepts articles, both from published and unpublished writers. It's published monthly and available at WHSmith (a UK newsagent
[ Click here to read more ]
I'm not just a writer. I'm also a geek. I love gadgets and one of my favourite lunch time activities is going to the Apple Store in Regent Street.
So obviously I followed the Engadget live coverage of the iPad keynote
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Look what I found: A writing about writing competition.
It can be anything provided it's no longer than 750 words and on the topic of writing: a short story, a poem, an essay, an article, "even a stream-of-consciousness writers-block-induced panic". There's an entry fee of £3.50 for one entry and £10 for four (USD 16.10, CAD 17.02, AUD 17.87
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The best way to overcome writer's block? Don't believe in it.
Writer's block is a myth. It's your subconscious making up reasons why you can't write
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I just watched Conan O'Brien last show online. He said about his seven-month stint and the early end of hosting 'The Tonight Show": "[...] I did it my way with people I love. I do not regret one second of anything that we've done here."
So, back to the writing life. Imagine it's August 23rd - seven months from today. What have achieved as a writer by that date? How did you achieve it? Are you on track for achieving your 2010 writing goals? Can you look back and say, "I do not regret one second of anything I've done", even if things didn't turn out as planned
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