Creating Likeable Protagonists – NaNoWriMo Daily Writing Tips
In Hollywood, it is said that “There are only two ways to make a likeable character.” Here are those two ways, plus a few more. 1) Put your character in pain. Putting a character in physical pain often doesn’t work well, but putting them in emotional turmoil can be very powerful. A person who suffers […]
Balancing Productivity and Art – NaNoWriMo Daily Writing Tips
If you are producing anything—toy dolls, bread, vacuum cleaners, or novels—there are some variables that you have to work with. Ideally, a publisher would like you to bring them in 1) quickly, 2) beautifully written, 3) and at a low price. But buyers will almost always be willing to make tradeoffs. Your goal is to […]
Five Strategies for Getting Started – NaNoWriMo Daily Writing Tips
Sometimes you’re not in the mood to write, but you know that you should. Maybe you’ve set a goal and hope to reach it, or you’re on a deadline. Here are a few strategies that you can use to get started: You don’t know what to write? Find a writing prompt, a sentence that suggests […]
Don’t Stress Out! – NaNoWriMo Daily Writing Tips
One form of writer’s block comes from being stressed. This is almost always a temporary condition, and there are ways to work around it, but much depends on the source of your stress. Let’s say for example that you have set aside your Saturday mornings to write, and suddenly you get news that your mother […]
The Loneliness Problem – NaNoWriMo Daily Writing Tips
I often look for similarities in great stories to see what works. One aspect that I see very often is that powerful stories resolve “the loneliness problem.” Normally, we are never told that our protagonist is lonely, but it’s there in the background: Scrooge is miserly old man in a musty house. Harry Potter has […]
Considering Crucibles – NaNoWriMo Daily Writing Tips
In everyday life, a crucible is a container used to hold metal or liquid as it boils. For example, to melt gold, one takes a heavy bowl made from steel and sets it in a fire. The steel, which can withstand higher temperatures than gold, doesn’t melt. But the small container quickly becomes super-heated, so […]
The Secret Power of Writing Groups – NaNoWriMo Dailies
One Sunday my wife suggested that we go for a hike, and we convinced my son Forrest to come with us. Now, I like to go for walks, but I’m not big on “hikes.” I’ve had too many unpleasant experiences on them, from taking accidental detours that forced me to walk an extra 30 miles, […]
Standing Out – NaNoWriMo Daily Writing Tips
A writer who had just begun brainstorming a novel wrote to me several years ago. He had an idea for a book, but while doing some research discovered that it had already been written. What should he do? Write it anyway, or look for a new idea? This is a complex question. I have another […]
Fixating on a Story – NaNoWriMo Daily Writing Tips
Remember when you were young and your mother or father read a favorite story to you over and over? Or do you recall that one book or movie that you wanted to read or watch again and again? Most people have a few all-time favorites. As a toddler, for me it was “Jack and the […]
Writing on the Run – NaNoWriMo Daily Writing Tips
Many wannabe writers are pretty sedentary. We tend to watch too much television, read too much, play video games too much, and chat online too much. When we do work, we sit too much. But over the years I’ve noticed that the most productive writers tend to have one thing in common—they exercise. One of […]