I was blogging at Musetracks today! Here is what I had to say:
Career Track: Frantically writing away to finish Nanowrimo (hopes: career author!); Volonteering at the local high school (hopes: High School Math teacher!); catering and running after two little boys (reality: mom!)
Let’s Brainstorm! So here we are all of us Candi, Jenn and I attempting to write 50,000 words in 30 days during the National Novel Writing Month (Nanowrimo). It is my first and if I am not wrong it is also a first for both Candi and Jenn (although every month is Nano month for our very prolific Candi it seems!)
To prepare for the month, I spend last week brainstorming. And even though I am a very analytical (polite way of saying anal) plotter, my brainstorming is anything but organized. I crank up the music (Nine Inch Nails and Tool work real well for me), walk around Seattle and daydream!
And I make lists, scene lists usually.
It is still a shock to me that I sold my fist manuscript but I have to say that if I hadn’t found THE brainstorming weapon, that manuscript mat have turned pretty flat. My favorite brainstorming tool is Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook by agent Donald Maass. And I specify the workbook because that is what is most useful to me. Tons and tons of page full of questionnaire from how to make your character bigger then life to how he/she sees the settings and how to create more tension.
The workbook is also a great tool to define all your plot, plot layers and subplot. I never realized what all those meant until I read and work with this book.
So there I was last week, taking the path of least resistance and just answering question.
Last month, I wished I had more of those types of chart to fill out and, miracle, Mary Buckman and Dianna Love new book Break into Fiction came out. With a foreword from Sherrilynn Kenyon, I knew I couldn’t go wrong. I took some workshop with Mary (she is awesome!) and her workbook really didn’t deceived. I love it.
It starts with questionnaires on characters and conflict and move on to climax and turning point. I found it a great complement to the Donald Maass book. So if you are like me (slightly lazy) I do recommend starting with Breaking into Fiction, then moving on to Writing the Breakout Novel. It’s easy, it’s fun and you might get some real cool ideas!
SOME USEFUL READS FROM THE BLOGOSPHERE, LAST WEEK:
- On themes by agent Nathan Bradford
- Why agents ask only for 3 chapters by agent Scott Eagan
- How Unpublished Authors Can Build Name Recognition by editor Leah Hultenschmidt at Romance University
- How not to act by writer Susan Adrian
MUSETRACKERS NANO STATS – Nov 2th:
- Jenn (The Bruised Sky): 413 (Hey, she just had a baby!)
- Candi: (On Lupine Ridge): 4,227
- Marie-Claude (Ancient Secrets): 3,017
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