An Aha! Moment via Joanna Penn: Publishing vs. Marketing
Joanna Penn is so smiley and enthusiastic and knowledgeable that she always gets me inspired. This webinar was no different. Got a sudden insight from Joanna Penn’s webinar on goals for the new year (2017): Marketing is what you do to SELL a book. Packaging, editing, and categorizing are what you do to PUBLISH a […]
Hero at the Bus Stop
This year, my husband gave me a Page-a-Day calendar to learn Italian. Today’s page was a dialogue between two men at a bus stop, getting ready to go to work. One said his boss was nicer than his colleagues. The other said his colleagues were nicer than his boss. [*cough* We’re learning vocabulary here. Cut […]
Peace on Earth, Good Will to You All!
A year ago, I wrote about our “rastafarian” Joseph and the challenges of writing about other people’s cultures: Skin-colored Felt: Doing other people’s cultures wrong. It feels like we’ve gone backwards in trying to understand each other this year. Our rastafarian Joseph still leans to one side. (He still needs that navy bean transfusion.) Our […]
Limit Yourself
A blank EtchASketch makes it pretty clear that I’ll be doodling around in squares because the drawing dot only moves in four directions, each at right angles to the other. The now defunct National Novel Writing Month was about throwing off the limits that keep us from creating. The NaNoWriMo site no longer exists, but […]
Thrive During NaNoWriMo with the Magnificent Step Seven: “Give it one more try”
This is the seventh (and final!) post in a short series on preparing for (and thriving during) National Novel Writing Month. The first post collects story ingredients here , the second finds the core of your story here , the third cuts the story up into manageable portion sizes here, the fourth clarifies the story […]
Thrive During NaNoWriMo. Success with Step 6: What have you learned about cooking up words?
This is the sixth post in a short series on preparing for (and thriving during) National Novel Writing Month. The first post collects story ingredients here , the second finds the core of your story here , the third cuts the story up into manageable portion sizes here, the fourth clarifies the story soup here, […]
Preparing for NaNoWriMo? Thrive with Step 5: Plan now to chill
Stitching up the middle of the story at the Frankfurt Book Fair. This is the fifth post in a short series on preparing for (and thriving during) National Novel Writing Month. The NaNoWriMo site is no longer live, but you can sign up for similar writing torture 😉 at Novel November. The first post collects […]
Thrive during NaNoWriMo. Step 4: Story Soup
You can turn your story soup into comfort food. © Laurel Decher, 2016 This is the fourth post in a short series on preparing for (and thriving during) National Novel Writing Month. The NaNoWriMo site no longer exists, but you can sign up for Novel November. Or build your own challenge with some writer friends. […]
Preparing for NaNoWriMo? Step 3: Cutting your story into squares
If you can’t see which way your story is pointing, maybe you need some building blocks. Byzantine brick paving. Ravenna, Italy. © Laurel Decher, 2016. This is the third post in a short series on preparing for National Novel Writing Month. The NaNoWriMo site no longer exists, but you can sign up for Novel November. […]
Preparing for NaNoWriMo? Step 2: A pinch of story structure
Let your story ripen and sweeten. Ahr valley vineyard. © Laurel Decher, 2016. Here’s the second post in a short series on preparing for National Novel Writing Month. The NaNoWriMo site no longer exists, but you can sign up for Novel November. Or build your own challenge with some writer friends. Find the whole series: […]
Preparing for NaNoWriMo? Step 1: Clear the Decks and Collect Ingredients
Ingredients set out to be transformed into imaginative cakes and tortes. Poppelsdorfer Schloss café, Bonn, Germany. © Laurel Decher, 2016. A friend (waving to Jane!) asked me how to prepare for National Novel Writing Month and after I sent her the third e-mail, suggested I write a blog post since November 1st is coming right […]
The Olympic Games Blues: 9 Ways to Juice Up Your Writing Life
Local people call this building Zitronenpresse or the “lemon juicer.” What do you do when your writing life runs out of juice? © Laurel Decher, 2016. Do you need to turn off the Olympic Games? When my older brother and I were 8 or 10 or 12 years old, Mom would turn off the Olympic […]