For all those who get a kick in the pants out of screaming through the first draft of a novel in one month, it’s time to begin thinking NaNoWriMo. The writers of Holly Lisle’s Writers’ Bootcamps participate in NaNo, each in his own way. Pssst! There’s no reason to go into it without a plan.
Stop in, find out what everybody’s planning for NaNo 2010, and add your own ideas on the November Nuttiness.
What a ride! Yesterday I finally completed the one-pass revision of my ms! It’s done, complete.
I sent out my first submissions this morning. Now I’m going to take a few days break and spend time with my husband and daughter . . .
Whew! I really enjoyed this course, even though it was a long, painstaking process. It made me see revision in a way I never would have discovered otherwise.
Thanks Holly! I will definitely recommend this course to others! Onward!
As more writers work through the revision process with HTRYN, more facets of the method appear.
Check out the latest enjoyable take on the Week 2 lesson, Promises, Promises, chillingly subtitled Finding Your Biggest, Worst First-Draft Wrecks.
Sideways writers look forward to earning money from their writing, and yes, even to having fans. Fans must be earned, too. How is it done?
First, take a long, cool look inward and discover your best asset.
Read what others have written and add your own assessment. Today is a good day.
A Sideways writer reports:
Guess what, my story Thicker Than Water (written with HTTS and the first novel I wrote in English without writing a German first draft) is a finalist in the Colorado Gold Writing Contest 2010 in Speculative Fiction from the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. . . . the comments I received were very valuable and spot on. Now, I can revise the whole thing again and maybe, I’ll be able to find an agent then. I’m ever so excited.
Holly, you (and your courses) rock!!! I can’t say that often enough.
Stop in to offer kudos and well wishes, and feel free to ask questions about the writer’s process and experiences.
A Sideways writer has announced:
My story, “The Frog Prince” (5k words), has been accepted for an anthology of gay romantic erotica called The Handsome Prince edited by author Neil Plakcy. Her work is a more quirky, humorous interpretation of the brief rather than simply rewriting a fairy tale.
She reports that she used techniques from Holly Lisle’s Create a Character Clinic to explore the two main characters, and made a mind map of all my research about frogs which was really helpful when writing.
Stop by, give her an attagirl and take away some new inspiration. Woohoo!
Almost nobody can write a novel. Correction: Almost nobody can write a novel in one big whoosh. Most writers need to stop, breathe, raise their eyes to some other landscape once in a while. Timed writing can be a small holiday for the Muse, allowing her to take off in any direction she likes. It’s a block-breaker, too.
Some Sideways writers share a bit of their ten-minute writings and their opinions of the practice. Log in, see what’s here, and share your ten minute vignette.
One of the grads of HTTS presented the forum with a neat idea: using the Sweet Spot Map as writing prompts. She detailed her method, which was taken up by others with glee and enthusiasm. A couple of members declared their own intentions to tweak.
Look at that: the birth of a cool new game to keep your muse loose and happy. Personalized random writing prompts. Genius!
How to Think Sideways offers a process that is detailed and structured but not constricting–a detailed map for the mind, a theme park for the muse, and a secure haven for a long-term writing career.
Through the course each student is able to master new pieces of process–but is free to adapt the process to the needs of his muse. Plotter? Pantser? Something in between? Sideways becomes as personal as fingerprints.
Log in to learn about classmates’ process and to offer clues to your own.