Resource Tips

Plotting: Knowing Which Scenes to Include


writing in notebookHow do writers know which scenes to include and which ones to summarize?

Jody Hedlund, best-selling author of over a dozen YA medieval novels, offers a few great tips on writing scenes.  She says:

“Obviously we can’t write every scene that takes place over the time period of our books which usually spans weeks or months. We have to narrow down how much of our story and character’s lives we reveal on the page. That means we often have to summarize events or leave them out entirely with the assumption that our readers will piece everything together without having to know every detail.

There’s not a hard, fast rule or formula for which scenes to write out in detail and which ones to summarize, but there are a few principles we can keep in mind when choosing scenes to include in our books… 

Read more

Source: jodyhedlund.blogspot.com

Resource Tips · Writing Tips

Crafting a Winning First Page


A good writer grabs their readers and makes them hang on until the end –
either gripping the edge of their seat or panting all the way.

How do you do that?

The first step in hooking your reader is nailing the first page. Zip over to
One Stop for Writers and download this powerful first-page cheat sheet: https://buff.ly/3pY7rsr

Resource Tips

How To Not Give Up On Writing a Book


hopelessDo you have a few abandoned manuscripts sitting on your computer? Are you lured away by new ideas, or do you find that getting started is easy, but continuing to write until the end of a first draft is the hardest thing in the world? You are not alone!

Author Natasha Lester puts together resources about how to not give up on writing a book. ReadMore

Resource Tips

100 Prompts for Writing About Yourself


writing in notebookBryn Donovan gives great prompts on how to start writing when you hit writers’ block.

If you like these writing prompts, you might want to pin or bookmark them for future reference. Take a look!

  1. Describe one of your earliest childhood memories.
  2. Write about what you see as one of your best qualities… ReadMore

 

Resource Tips

How To Improve Your Writing Skills


Whether you’re a blogger, student, or aspiring author, learning to improve your writing is a skill that can be used for years to come. With a little practice, research, and creative choice, you’ll be on the right track. Dana Fox shares great tips for becoming a better writer:

  • Grammarly.com can help when you’re in a bind
  • Practice, Practice! Short stories, journals, anything to help you write more. Writing prompts may be a key.
  • Read a variety of different styles
  • Swap Words – Be creative. Use the thesaurus if you must. (Did you know Shift + F7 on the keyboard is a shortcut in Word for the Thesaurus?)
  • Outline! Filling in is easier than staring at a blank page.
  • Edit, review, and then edit some more

Read more details on each point at  How To Improve Your Writing Skills