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[personal profile] ladyseishou
I hope to post an inspirational quotation for each day of November like we had last year (here's an example). So I would like to ask for your help Nano Writer!

Please respond to this post and tell me your favorite writing quotations. One or several, I need them all! Thanks!

50 Days

Sep. 11th, 2009 03:01 pm
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[personal profile] ladyseishou
There are only 50 days until the start of NaNoWriMo!

And FYI for all interested parties: the Office of Letters and Light Donation Station and Store is now up and running in beta (so they say but my orders went through without any problems)... more_here )

100

Jul. 23rd, 2009 11:37 pm
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[personal profile] ladyseishou
There are only 100 days until the start of NaNoWriMo! Here are a couple of websites to help celebrate the day!

100 Excellent Online Tools to Feed Your Creativity

Many experts say that creativity is not necessarily something you have or don't have, but that can be nurtured and developed. If you are searching for ways to feed your creativity, then take a look at these online tools. From tools that help you organize, plan, and brainstorm to tools that inspire through writing prompts and creative photos to tools that work to develop the creative mind, you will find plenty of inspiration in this list.


Club 100 for Writers

Club 100 is the brain child of writer Avis Hester. The challenge is simple. Write at least 100 words a day for 100 days. You'll be surprised how quickly the pages add up, even if you're only meeting the minimum goal!


Top 100 articles on Writing

"Articles To Hone Your Writing Skills To Perfection!" From Writing Information.


100 Best Last Lines from Novels from American Book Review


More later about a special contest...

Until then, keep writing!

130

Jun. 23rd, 2009 01:18 pm
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[personal profile] ladyseishou
There are 130 days left until the start of NaNoWriMo, Nano Writers!

As this month's focus is on our characters and characterization, let's take a brief look at William Shakespeare's Sonnet 130, the Master's pithy characterization of his mistress:

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.

It's been said that "Shakespeare's Sonnet CXXX mocks the conventions of the garish and flowery courtly sonnets." Yet I must admit that sometimes I have resorted to a little of the "garish and flowery" myself when trying to hit my NaNoWriMo word count.

Anyone else?

Perhaps this list may help the next time you're doing a little word padding (or just plain stuck looking for just the right word for your protagonist):

130 Positive Personality Adjectives

Scott Adams, author and creator of the Dilbert comic strip, also writes that: "...if you read the list of positive personality adjectives quickly, it actually makes you feel slightly upbeat. It's a subtle form of hypnosis."

And lest our bad guys feel neglected, there's also a list of common Negative Personality Adjectives that can be found here.

More later this week! Part 2 for What a Character! coming up next!

And as always... keep writing!
ladyseishou: (Default)
[personal profile] ladyseishou
I know pretty much what my main characters are like, but beyond that I just have to wait to see what comes out of my typewriter. I make up one-third of the things people say and do in the stories I write, but I have nothing to do with the rest.

Rex Stout (author of the Nero Wolfe mystery novels)


Do your characters take over your novel, Nano Writer? Or do they follow the path you've set out in your outline?

Have you met the characters in our newest contest? Part one closes this Sunday, June 14!

Sources for the genre mini-challenge may be found here. Do you agree/disagree with the genre? Did any of the answers surprise you?

Keep writing, Nano Writer!
ladyseishou: (Default)
[personal profile] ladyseishou
Okay Nano Writers! It’s that time again so put on your writing hats and grab your favorite pens/pencils/keyboards. This month we’re going to be talking about your story’s characters and characterization tips and techniques. And to kick things off: a contest!

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This_way_to_our_gallery_of_“rogues”_and_contest_rules )

Part 1 will close at midnight EST on June 14.
ladyseishou: (Default)
[personal profile] ladyseishou
Robert McKee in his work Story describes a story scene as:

…an action through conflict in more or less continuous time and space that turns the value-charged condition of a character’s life on at least one value [positive or negative] with a degree of perceptible significance.


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So_what’s_your_scene_Nano_Writer? )
ladyseishou: (Default)
[personal profile] ladyseishou
You say you know your genres? You know what makes a mystery tick and what beats a heart-felt romance? Well here's your chance to show off your knowledge of what genre is all about...

show off your genre sensibilities here )
ladyseishou: (Default)
[personal profile] ladyseishou
Apparently, many of our Nano Writers (whether of the blue or purple persuasion) have a passionate interest in the topic of genre and my thanks to everyone who commented on the earlier post!

What exactly genre means is open to a degree of interpretation…

tired_retread_or_playful_subversion? )
ladyseishou: (Default)
[personal profile] ladyseishou
With story idea (or two) in hand, we next consider genre, Nano Writer. Wikipedia defines genre as: a term for fictional works (novels, short stories) written with the intent of fitting into a specific literary genre in order to appeal to readers and fans already familiar with that genre.

NaNoWriMo hosts an entire subforum of "lounges" for genre writers yet the idea of genre fiction is rejected by many writers as being too restrictive and formulaic.

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So Nano Writer, the question this week: Do_you_genre? )

160

May. 24th, 2009 05:09 pm
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[personal profile] ladyseishou
There are only 160 days until NaNoWriMo!


Did you know? Text messages are limited to 160 characters because a communications researcher named Friedham Hillebrand sat down at his typewriter and wrote out a series of sentences and questions, deciding that 160 characters was enough to express a meaningful message. The creators of Twitter later followed suit and limited the "tweet" to 140 characters (keeping 20 for the user's address). source

Consider then Nano Writer what you can do with 50,000 words! What have you written today?
ladyseishou: (Default)
[personal profile] ladyseishou
Where to get the idea? Easy. Pick up your local newspaper. The odds are that on the first page or two it contains news of at least one homicide, an aggravated assault, a bank robbery, a mugging, a jailbreak. There also may be a recap on a criminal trial that merits national attention, an update on a series of unsolved murders, and an item about a child who has been missing. In other words, you'll find material for a dozen short stories or novels.

Mary Higgins Clark (The Cradle Will Fall, A Stranger is Watching)
ladyseishou: (Default)
[personal profile] ladyseishou
So now that we've put that place in Schenectady out of business, what do some other writers say about where the ideas come from...

Neil Gaiman (American Gods and Coraline) reports that when asked, he would say:

"From the Idea-of-the-Month Club," I'd say, or "From a little ideas shop in Bognor Regis," "From a dusty old book full of ideas in my basement," or even "From Pete Atkins."

But now-a-days, tired of tomfoolery, he opts for telling the curious where his ideas really come from...click_here_for_more )
ladyseishou: (Default)
[personal profile] ladyseishou
Fourteen Nano Writers shared with us their word lists in Part 1 and six writers stepped up to the challenge as presented in part 2, applying first-rate sleuthing skills!

And without further ado, we're very happy to announce our winner! It is...

the_envelope_please... )

Missed out on the fun? Stayed tuned for future challenges and contest announcements!
ladyseishou: (Default)
[personal profile] ladyseishou
Last week we looked at ways to jumpstart the writing habit by writing in a journal every day, and like a good distance runner, working up to your NaNoWriMo word count of 1,667 words a day.

Okay, show of hands, how many Nano Writers fell a little short of the target? Wow. That's a lot of hands. But hey, that's okay! It's a new week! Let's see if we can't inspire a few more keystrokes and work that word count by finding something fun/cool/relevant/inspirational to write about and perhaps, maybe, stumble on a really great idea for your novel you're going to write in November.


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So_do_you_know_about_that_place_in_Schenectady? )
ladyseishou: (Default)
[personal profile] ladyseishou
What IS That? Part 2 closes this Friday. The response so far seems a little light – have we so few sleuths and puzzlers among our tribe of scribes? And for those who have answered the challenge – salutations and thanks! For one – a worthy prize awaits!

Writing Thought for the Week:

Whether or not you write well, write bravely.

Bill Stout
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[personal profile] ladyseishou
Most writers recognize that there are two types of conflict in their work: external and internal. Mary Connealy, an award-winning author of humorous novels that take place in the Wild West, says this:

Defining your conflict is Step One in writing your novel. What it boils down to is: External Conflict is plot, Internal Conflict is characters.

more_here )
ladyseishou: (Default)
[personal profile] ladyseishou
Without it there is No Story. No drama. No interest.

Janet Burroway, in her classic text Writing Fiction, a Guide to Narrative Craft (now in its seventh edition) claimed it to be the “fundamental element of fiction” though the playwright Elia Kazan referred to it simply as “two dogs fighting over a bone.”

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What_is_it?_And_do_you_got_it_Nano_Writer? )
ladyseishou: (Default)
[personal profile] ladyseishou
So you say you want to write a novel. Better yet, you want to write a 50,000 word novel. And you want to do it in 30 days.

30 days!

That’s pretty scary stuff. 50,000 words. 30 days. So let’s break it down into something a little more manageable.

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And_we_all_know_the_formula,_right? )

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