Storyboards are a quick, fluid way to plan a novel. It is a way to see how your story events flow together, how they match up with the plotting template you choose to use, and where there are plot holes. Continue reading Storyboard Your Novel
Are you a visual person? Do you hate outlining? Then mind mapping is for you. It is also a powerful tool for any writer.
A mind map is a visual representation of connected ideas. This makes it perfect for playing with different elements of a story. Continue reading Mind Mapping Your Story Ideas
All the motivation and energy in the world will not produce a finished novel. We first need ideas. Focused brainstorming is one way to inspire them. Continue reading How to Brainstorm Your Novel into Existence
Do you want to write faster and enjoy the process while doing so? Check out Fast Draft Your Manuscript and Get It Done.
Continue reading Fast Draft Your Manuscript: It’s NaNoWri
~ Make it Beautiful ! Organizing is something you do before you do something, so when you do it, it is not all mixed up. ~ A.A. Milne Last month, while pondering my Big Word FOCUS, I learned that maintaining one’s … Continue reading Organize and De-Clutter Your Writing Zone
~ Becoming a Focused Writer ~ Being able to focus is always an issue for a creative writer. No one is telling you what story world to invent nor how to get yourself in the seat, start writing, and then … Continue reading How I Learned to Focus
~A Dozen Hopes for 2019 ~ Time to make those 2019 New Year Resolutions. I have a long tradition of making New Year’s Resolutions. I bet many of you do too. After all, we only get a chance to revisit our … Continue reading My 2019 New Year Resolutions
~ What I am Thankful For ~ On this Thanksgiving Day, I thought I would make a list of all the things I am thankful for as a writer. Most of the things are simple. It doesn’t take much to … Continue reading 12 things I am Thankful for: A Writer’s List of Thankfuls
~How to Keep Your Marketing Info At Your Fingertips~ Do you have a marketing cheat sheet? I do. Last year when I released my first book in the Skin Quartet series, Beneath the Skin, I had no idea how to go about marketing it. … Continue reading Why Authors Need a Marketing Cheat Sheet
~How to Extend the Story~ When I started writing my first romantic suspense Beneath the Skin, I had no plans to make it into a series. But it didn’t take long for me to start imagining the lives of the … Continue reading Writing a Series – 6 Tips for Success
Or Why Hitching Creativity to the Clock is Doomed to Failure Yikes! Where did the time go? My last post was when – December? So much for keeping a writing journal. It was such a good idea – writing down … Continue reading Time Management versus Creativity in Writing
50,000 Words and Counting! I did it! For the third year in a row I managed to get down 50,000 words on my next novel, despite the holidays, a long-awaited visit from my sister who lives in Scotland, a book … Continue reading Word Trackers. A Good Thing or Not?
I love to read. In fact, I don’t just love it– I am compelled to read. I read everything. If there is a newspaper in the recycle bin, I read it. If there is a cereal box on the table, … Continue reading I love to read: Why reading during NaNoWri is a bad Idea
My first novel, written as a respite from working on my dissertation, took me five years to write. My second novel took seven years to write. My third novel took one month. What made the difference? Fast drafting. Fast drafting … Continue reading Fast Drafting My Way to The End or What I Learned from NaNoWri
ZARA WEST'S JOURNAL 