New Moon today

According to my calendar, today, December 16 is a New Moon.  What does that mean?

I really don’t follow astronomy, so you can try to Google it. But I’m positive, the first page (or 80) will all be links to Stephanie Myer’s Twilight: New Moon, the second book in her series, or the movie with Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner. I’m not going to balk – I’d be clicking on those links, too!

But today, let’s use this craze as a writing prompt. You can write about vampires (done to death!) a sweeping romantic saga (insert finger in throat now), werewolves (a second to the vampire “overdone topic”). Or maybe, you can flip it. What is the opposite of vampires? Life over death? Sunshine over shadows? Heavenly instead of underworldly?

And how about a revenge story – not a love story? A breakup story…I’m sure you guys have plenty of ideas here.

A (late) NaNo Round Up…

So, how did you all do? Finish your novel by November 30? Meet your designated word count (if you were signed up for the Young Writers’ Program) or the 50k if you registered on the adult NaNo site?

I am a bit disappointed in myself for not finishing and winning. I do not like to lose. What happened? How did I miss the train to NaNo-ville? Well, life happened: family illness, a funeral and a road trip to Paris, TN. I guess there are stories behind all of those life happenings. Journal now. Draft later.

But, I do have a bunch of young writers to CONGRATULATE for meeting their goals – or even just attempting to write a full novel in November. You can be added to this esteemed list. Just send me a quick email (mjcwriter”at”comcast”dot”net) by 12/17 with your first name, last initial, age, novel title, word count and a brief summary of your novel.  Then, come back on Friday to read more…

Question from a young writer: characters making their own decisions!

“What do you do when your antagonist and your protagonist start to get along waaaay better than they were supposed to?  They’re supposed to hate each other, but Tefached just helped Lissa on her algebra homework.  Help!! this was not supposed to happen!” ~ Kaylie, grade 8

Great question, Kaylie!

The excitement of writing characters and following them is sometimes balanced with the frustration of these same characters not doing what you want!
I have a few suggestions for you:

1. Maybe the antagonist has ulterior motives; he/she is “helping” to get close to the protagonist to really come in for the “kill.” You know what they say “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer!”
2. Perhaps the antagonist has a soft spot, as every villain should. This may be that awkward scene where the protag makes a fool of herself and rejects the help the antag. is offering, which she may later regret out of guilt or riling up the antag. for revenge?
3. Your characters may be trying to tell you something: maybe you have the antagonist wrong? Maybe there’s a stronger antagonist lurking around the corner?
4. Or maybe the characters are meant to be buddies, but not until some pivotal scenes happen. In this case, work backwards and see how they ended up here, getting along. Save the scene you’ve written for the end…

Good luck and let me know how it turns out!

Do you have a writing question? Send it to me in an email and you may see it posted here ! mjcwriter”at”comcast”dot”net

 

Announcing…a book club for WRITERS!

The passion for writing is pretty wide spread, so when a fellow writer and/or teacher contacts me about some neat project they’re doing to help inspire young writers, I’m so open to helping them spread the word.

 

E.M. Rowan, of E.M. Rowan’s Field Notes (Research for Beginning Writers) would like to share this info with you:

The Writer’s Book Club will be an online group—if you want, participate from the comfort of your home while wearing pajamas! No one will see you or even hear your voice. I’ll announce the book; approximately a month later, I’ll create a discussion post. Everyone is welcome to join in and comment as much as you want. My only rule is that you be respectful of the author and other people’s opinions. Feel free to calmly disagree with the author or readers, but I’ll delete comments such as, “This club sucks! I’m right and you’re wrong! This is the worst book in the history of the world!” You get the idea.

While brainstorming ideas for how the book club would work, Ellie had a great suggestion:  ” . . . then on the blog we talk about what writing was good in the book, and what writing was bad, so then it’s not just about the story, but we’re studying it from a writer’s perspective. We could even take it deeper and read one book because the author is famous for giving good descriptions, and another that is good at story-pace, and one that is good at back story . . .”

I immediately pounced on this idea. How many book clubs study from a writer’s perspective? Maybe lots, I don’t know. But I like it, so I’m incorporating it. That does not mean you must be a writer in order to join the club. Anybody who wants to read books is welcome. We’ll still be discussing the story, characters, favorite parts, etc. But if you’re a writer, it’s like an extra bonus. I hope you’ll learn something new by studying each book.

The first book is Shiver, by Maggie Stiefvater and the discussion begins on December 2nd.

Pump Up Your Word Count, NaNo’ers!

A student of mine emailed me in a panic last week:

“My word count is at 1,000, but I need help boosting my word count because my story is progressing way too fast! Help!”

Ask, and you shall receive:

Here are some tips to add to your word count:

Use a TON of descriptions: describe gestures, clothing, scenery, rooms, furniture, etc

Use some inner dialogue: have your protagonist or antagonist talk to themselves about something that’s bothering them, have them talk out how they’re going to handle it.

Use a flashback or dream: one of your characters can be reminded of something from their past, then write in in the past tense, but bulk up the scene with descriptions and dialogue. Or write about  a dream or nightmare they’ve had or are having  – this is cool in the sense that you can write in a different tone/genre for the dream sequence.

If you need more tips, check out the YWP NaNo website: http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/

NaNo Prompts, turkey style

Your characters are having a feast. On some unusual dishes:

Pickles and peanut butter

Cold tomato soup with tuna chunks

Mince meat pie with vanilla ice cream

Beef Jerky and Poptarts

How do these items get to the gathering? Who brings them? Are they homemade or store-bought? Are the dishes filled with secret ingredients?

NaNo Prompts

Stuff your novel with these adjectives:

 

stuffy

sweet

fluffy

grainy

black

pointy

squishy

cool

sour

 

NaNo Prompts to boost your word count

Add one of these flashbacks:

A lost pet

Confronting a bully for the first time

Changing schools

More Prompts

Put these items in a scene with your antagonist:

 

A bathtub filled with green slime

Pencil case filled with Smencils

Belly filled with hot wings – ouch!

NaNoWriMo Prompt

get that word count PUMPED UP!!!

Have your character start up a fundraising campaign for their school or organization.  But, they are selling Chinese stars and camouflage headbands…