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Category: novels
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Step 5 of Nanowrimo Planning: Step Two, Pumped Up!
STEP FIVE: STEP TWO, PUMPED UP! Now that you know your characters better, and you know your plot a bit better, it’s time to look back for a moment and build on step two. You know more now, so this shouldn’t be tough, but here’s what step five involves: In step two, you…
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Step 4 of Nanowrimo Planning: The Handshake
STEP FOUR: THE HANDSHAKE In steps one and two, you thought about story. In step three, you thought about characters. It’s now time for step four, and that means. . . Character, story. Story, character. Now say “Hello.” That’s right—it’s time for your story and character to meet. It’s time to do character…
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Step 3 of Nanowrimo Novel Planning: The Staff Meeting
STEP THREE: STAFF MEETING As a teacher, I’m often FORCED to attend staff meetings where a wide variety of characters come together and accomplish very little. You need to have a staff meeting for your novel, too, but the difference is, you need to accomplish a great deal in yours. It’s a challenge, but…
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Step 2 of Nanowrimo Novel Planning: Back Cover Blurb
STEP TWO: THE BACK COVER BLURB Congratulations! You have your one-sentence summary complete, and you’re ready to build on it. Your agent pitch is ready, so it’s time for your back cover blurb. People who pick up a novel at a bookstore almost immediately flip it over to “see what it’s all about.” It’s…
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STEP 1 of Nanowrimo Novel Planning: A simple (?) sentence!
Remember that for Nanowrimo, our weapon of choice is … a snowflake. See yesterday’s post if you don’t know what I’m talking about. In any case, today, I’m posting the first of seven steps that will help you plan a novel for Nanowrimo. Even if you’ve never planned before, I guarantee this method will…
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Planning for NANOWRIMO: A modified snowflake?
We’re in this one together… NOVEL PREP STEPS (based on Randy Ingermanson’s method) Simplify. Whenever possible, simplify. When I first saw Randy Ingermanson’s snowflake method in action, it was intriguing, but somewhat complicated. Ten steps and plenty of diversions this way and that to discuss side issues. The text was confusing, but I loved…
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NANOWRIMO: Planner or Pantser? It doesn’t matter…
You know who you are as a writer–either you love to plan out every detail, or you love the thrill of writing by the seat of your pants, not knowing where it might take you… but it doesn’t matter. One area even the Pantser needs to think about is WHAT KIND OF NOVEL WILL I WRITE?…
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Name drop 2: MICHAEL SLADE!
Just in case you even for a moment thought Lisa Unger would respond and Michael Slade wouldn’t, here’s a post from the Master of Horror himself: That’s what good books and good teachers do, right? Pass on the passion from one generation to the next! By the way, that talk of Slade’s I went to in…
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SUMMER OF BLADES is one of three finalists in a novel contest!
OK, SUPER EXCITING NEWS! My novel, a YA Medieval Fantasy, Summer of Blades, is one of three finalists in a contest put on by Grasmere Publishing. The winner gets his or her novel published. In other words, I am literally two books away from fulfilling a dream–having a novel in print! It gets…