You know you’re a writer when:
It’s easy for a visitor to spot your favorite chair–it’s the one with multi-colored ink stains on the armrests.
You stare into space and have silent arguments with people no one else can see–yet.
Or–
Go here and get the best “You know you’re a writer” story in ages.
HtTS students want to know: How many projects could (or should) a writer have going at once? The responses are varied and interesting.
And it’s the usual answer : it all depends … Take a look here.
What do you want to do before you die? Visit Poe’s grave, see Gutenberg’s press, travel Steinbeck country, write enough poems for a book, write fifty notable short stories, go through astronaut training?
Think of 20 things that would add value, sparkle, depth, or just plain old fun to your life–things that are special to you because you’re a writer.
HTTS members, log in and go here to chime in.
Flashbacks. The Muse adores flashbacks. Writing teachers, readers, and editors, not so much. Oh, the dilemma!
Will that flashback you’re writing enhance the story or stop it dead?
Can a flashback ever be good for a story or are they always the mark of an amateur?
If you must have a flashback, how should you handle it?
HTTS members, log in and go here to join the discussion.
(Psst: Prologues and epilogues have been mentioned, too.)
Dark hair cropped short, or long golden tresses.
Drives a Mazzerati, or a classic Chevy, or a rusted out Dodge.
Athletic. Bookish. Tall. Short. Conservative. Or flashy and extravagant.
However you visualize your character, that vision needs to stay consistent. Many writers use character boards to help them keep their focus while they’re writing. In this thread, one student suggests a unique approach to keeping her character’s visuals in mind. All members are welcome to join the conversation to share their own tips.
In HTRYN lesson 17, Holly makes some suggestions about the best use of workspace when it’s time for “the cut”.
But different setups work better for different writers. One member shared a picture of how her desk is set up. All HTRYN students are welcome to share their experiences of what workspace setup works … or doesn’t … for them.
In Holly Lisle’s Create a Plot Clinic, she talks about using tarot cards as Muse-pinging devices to stimulate story development.
Tarot cards? Like, um, fortunetellers use?
Yes. Or no.
Did you know there are decks of image-rich cards that are designed specifically for writers, and that these cards have no connection whatsoever with the occult?
True. Or you could go with the traditional divination tools–only this time you are trying to foresee your heroine’s next move.
Not everyone will want to use this method, which is why there are so many methods offered in the course, but if you’re at all curious about this tool, log in and go here to talk with those who have discovered a plot in the cards.
Lesson 9 of How to Think Sideways shows the writer how to stand inside his story, observe and experience it for himself, and designate a viewpoint character. Holly warns that using multiple viewpoints is tricky.
This HTTS student is adequately prepared to write the story, but he’s having doubts. What’s the best way to deal with doubts, and with the inevitable disappointments when the first draft writing isn’t exactly luminous?
HTTS members, log in and go here to read and respond. Everybody needs to work through this phase of the writer’s process, painful as it is.
Holly’s short course (not that short–it’s 210 pages) Mugging the Muse: Writing Fiction for Fun and Profit, Second Edition, requires the writer to dig deep into his own motives and priorities before he can even say for sure that he wants to be a writer.
Really wants to be a writer.
Really, really wants to be a writer.
Wants it enough to sacrifice other desires. Sacrifice?
Members, go here to read the question, then study the chapter. Think it over, then muse on it and get the answers. Share, because sharing helps everyone.
This writer of YA fiction plans her story to occur at the end of the school year and start of the summer. This is a busy time for the high school set, and deeply emotional.
So, how precisely detailed and accurate does this writer’s timeline need to be? How does she find out or figure out when to schedule prom, finals, and graduation?
Log in and go here to help discuss this topic.