What do your readers want from your blog?
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Now that writers know they have to build a platform–no dimensional lumber allowed–many new questions form.  What kind of blog?  What subject matter?  And, putting yourself in the reader’s slippers, Why should I read your blog?

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Go here to join the discussion.  There are lots of ideas offered in this topic, but it’s still waiting for your idea.

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The Writer as Push Pin
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Holly’s amazing Walkthrough-Talkthrough of How to Think Sideways is now in Week 9, in which she covers The Art of Standing in Your Map.  This is a delicious lesson, guaranteed to help create deep, satisfying scenes.

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You’ve got The Sentence for each scene–now go the extra step.  What did you remember to include in the first page of the scenes, and what did you forget?  Drop by here to answer the Question of the Week.

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Learning the Revision Process with Short Story?
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This student felt overwhelmed when she started to revise the book she wrote during National Novel Writing Month.

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She wonders if she should try the process with a short story first.  Excellent idea and thought-provoking question.

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Go here to join the discussion.

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Psst!  There’s  no rule against preparing for NaNoWriMo.  Starting now with Holly’s walkthrough of How To Write Sideways could put you in great shape for a happy and productive November. :)

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Suggestions for Walkthrough-Talkthrough topics
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Holly is now into the lesson for Week 8 of How to Think Sideways.  How are you doing?  What would you like to see addressed in future Walkthroughs?

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For instance, what part of the lesson for Week 10 baffles you a little?  Week 18?  Some other week?

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Go here to add your suggestions and feedback to the discussion.  Go ahead–this is for you.

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Extra Mojo on the Top Line
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Holly’s walkthrough of the How to Think Sideways course has come to the lesson for Week 8, Plan Your Project Without Killing Your Story.

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Now we’re getting down to story time!  Break out the index cards and let your Muse and your You sing Kumbayah.  Want extra mojo?  Then don’t let the top line of the index card go to waste.

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How do you invoke and use the magic of scene titles?  Go here to share your ideas and get a kick from others’ title work.

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Revelation of Love
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This writer’s FMC has fallen in love with the MMC, after being best friends with him all their young lives.

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How can the writer give the hero a clue?  What cues might the heroine accidentally provide to him, when she’s reluctant to ruin their friendship?  Given the fact that they belong to different species, “It’s complicated” doesn’t begin to describe the problem.

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Go here to join this delicious discussion.

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HTRYN versus HTTS: keep revising a wrecked novel, or start writing it all over again?
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This HTRYN student finds his novel to be so broken that he wonders if he should not just start all over again with the HTTS process.

Excellent question, with lots of details and nuances.  What do you think?

Go here, read the ongoing discussion, then offer your best understanding of the Lisle methods of writing and revision and how they work together.

Week 7: Serious Planning for Stories and Series
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For those who are following along with Holly’s walkthrough of How to Think Sideways, the Week 7 Lesson is now under consideration. (For those of you not following the walkthrough, you are missing out on powerful instruction and inspiration.)
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Last week Holly decided to throw traditional publishing overboard. This week she is working out–right before our eyes–plans for her first independent series. She’s using the planning modules from Week 7 to build characters, conflict, and more. Don’t miss this demonstration.
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Here’s Holly’s Question of the Week. The answer to this is one of the best ways to keep your story on track to satisfy your reader and yourself.

Join a team. Build a team.
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Before you take your book to your readers, you need to be sure it’s your best work.

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Over in this corner of the forum writers are declaring their cores, the whats and wherefores of the deepest hearts of their stories.  Others are coming forward to commit to providing feedback in an organized and timely manner.

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If you are serious about finishing, polishing, getting your books to the indie marketplace, waste no time in showing up here and teaming up.  Indie doesn’t have to mean solitary.

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