nano_writers | Entries tagged with topic of the week

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!

Current Mood: curious

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.

( So_what’s_your_scene_Nano_Writer? )

Current Mood: curious

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? )

Current Mood: contemplative

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.

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

Current Mood: sick

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

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.

( So_do_you_know_about_that_place_in_Schenectady? )

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 )

Current Mood: thoughtful

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.”

( What_is_it?_And_do_you_got_it_Nano_Writer? )

Current Mood: thoughtful

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.

( And_we_all_know_the_formula,_right? )

Current Mood: cheerful

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NaNoWriMo Dreamwidth Writers

come celebrate literary abandon...

Writing Thought for the Week

Purple Topic of the Week: What’s Your Scene?

Blue/Purple Topic: Genre part 2 - Retread or Subversion?

Blue Topic: Genre?

Blue Topic of the Week: Where Did You Get That Idea!? part 2

Blue Topic of the Week: Where Did You Get That Idea!?

Conflict part 2: External and Internal Conflict

Purple Topic of the Week: What Hooks a Reader and Makes a Story Interesting?

Blue Topic of the Week: Getting Started

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November 2023

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