Holly Lisle's Novel Writing Course: The Blog » Eureka!

Another one flew over the finish line!

Texanne — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 03:20:43 +0000

I am so happy right now I can barely think. My rough draft is done. I haven’t finished a rough draft of something book length it about ten years, so this is a big thing for me!

A few questions though:
Are we supposed to hate our endings as soon as we read through them? Is this normal?
How long should I wait before taking HTRYN?
What should I do to take my mind off of my WIP?
What if my book sucks?
Yeah, I have more questions, but these are the ones I can’t stop thinking of. I think the reason I haven’t finished stuff before is for this very reason. I am terrified of writing crap.
Any advice you all can offer would be great.

Offer advice, and sing a verse of Atta Girl!

Massive implosion rocks writer’s (fictional) world!

Texanne — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 16:30:12 +0000

He wrote a big novel, but the overall message of the story came out all wrong. HTRYN to the rescue!

. . . after going through Holly’s process, I knew . . . I had too many characters and too many unrelated stories. I realized that when I split my original story into its two halves, that I hadn’t split it correctly.

I decided to go into the Monastery and write out the outline of the story from scratch. I decided to keep only the basic events of the story. Basically ONE event, the event that I loved about this story. Nothing else was sacred.

And there was a massive implosion.

Huzzah! to the writer–and to those who read and take instruction from this post.

Don’t you love that Ah Ha! moment?

Texanne — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 04:20:43 +0000

This Sideways student talks about how she’s getting the hang of The Sentence:

This is my second time starting HTTS because I got busy with another project the first time and quit my old one. Now I’m starting over with three new ideas.

I just finished the fourth draft of the Sentence for my third idea, which is a MG urban fantasy. I love it the most out of all three ideas, and I think I’ve finally gotten the Sentence right.

My Muse is already thinking about ideas for a contemporary story set in a high school, a fantasy, a mystery, etc. I’m not going to change the idea, but I finally can deconstruct my Sentence!

Come and share the good vibes, offer congrats, maybe pick up a pointer.

Writers love to have crowds in their heads.

Texanne — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 04:01:59 +0000

A student of How to Revise Your Novel has this to say about Week 12’s lesson “Commit to your Characters.”

YES! I’ve finished it!

Holly suggested taking all the time it needed to get the characters right. So I did – all 26 days of it.
Consequently, I’ve got to know the characters much better. I love ‘em all. That sounds trite and small and what I feel is neither of those things. A huge warmth and also astonishment that they have come out of my head!

I just hope that when I get writing again, I can do justice to these characters and this book which is taking on a form which makes me gasp. It bears little resemblance to the original muddle and actually has a plot now.

This course is awesome. Thanks for sharing, Holly! ☺

Come and throw confetti (glitter is okay, too).

PS: How’s your novel progressing?

Cumulative Goodness–Yum!

Texanne — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 16:00:55 +0000

Sometimes the Aha! comes instantly, but often it smolders a bit before it ignites.

I was beginning to lose interest already, and my The Sentence for the piece made me yawn. Today, while driving and letting my mind wander (in a safe and responsible way…clearly), my Muse hit me over the head, while, interestingly, Resistance by Muse popped up on my playlist. Suddenly, I’m writing a web furiously in the parking lot at work, reinvigorated, extremely excited.

I suppose I’m just excited because Lessons 1-4 suddenly clicked for me in the most invigorating of ways. Thanks!

Come and join the huzzahs!

Happier than a cat with a full bowl of cream

Texanne — Fri, 14 May 2010 13:45:08 +0000

A Sideways Student writes:

I wrote the novel THICKER THAN WATER through my first time doing Holly’s Think Sideways course. When Chuck Sambucchino from the “Guide to Literary Agents”-blog announced a “Lucky Agent Contest” with the prize of a 10 page critique from an agent, I jumped at the occasion. (By the way, he’s running another one just now, genres are Fantasy and SciFi.)

AND I WON!!!

Also, THICKER THAN WATER has garnered 4 requests for full from agents, results still pending. Am I happy or what?

Happiness is contagious. Drop by to see the live links and to offer your congratulations.

Thinking Sideways through Life.

Texanne — Mon, 10 May 2010 15:00:33 +0000

Students have commented that Sideways Thinking is helpful in areas of life well beyond writing.

Here is the beginning of a discussion about using Sideways techniques to enrich and simplify other aspects of daily living. Become braver and better organized. Leave dead-end thinking behind.

Stop by, pick up an idea and leave one behind.

That’s why they don’t call it vacuum-building.

Texanne — Fri, 07 May 2010 02:00:09 +0000

Lesson 7 of How to Revise Your Novel requires the writer to examine the story world in detail. Many writers either don’t create a consistent world, or don’t notice that they’ve done so. World affects the story and is affected by the story, and it is the place that readers enter when they experience the story.

This stuff matters.

Log on to read one student’s Eureka concerning her own worldbuilding and how it relates to her writing at large. Join the discussion—how has your approach to world-building changed as a result of Lesson 7?

Much better than a T-shirt

Texanne — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 17:30:53 +0000

Two students of Holly Lisle’s Writers’ Boot Camps are currently attending the Pikes Peak Writers Conference in Colorado, USA. One has copped a prize and both have received requests for partials. Good news!

Moreover, they are sending back the solid info they are getting first hand from agents and editors along with a peek at the way the conference is organized.

Join in, offer your congratulations, and maybe ask a question or two.

Stories Matter, long or short.

Texanne — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 15:00:11 +0000

Last week I started a short story I developed while taking HTTS and this morning I wrote more in one sitting than I have since Nano. . . . Now I am 4,147 words into my story and I can see an ending starting to form. This will be the first project I have finished in a long time. It may only be a short story, but in my mind, that is still huge. It gives me the confidence that I need to start planning my YA novel again.

Because of you Holly I know that I not only want, but I NEED to be a writer. Because of you I have found stories that MATTER. Because of you I am excited about writing again. Because of you I feel like I can fly.

No words can describe my thanks. You are amazing.

She can finish her story—can you? Sounds like a challenge, doesn’t it?

Cheer her on and maybe show a little commitment to your own story.