Writing Advice

Novel Design

• Research - Researching your story.
• Don't be a Watson - Use real intelligence in your stories.

Story Structure: The Hero's Journey
This twelve-part series explores a story structure based on The Hero's Journey.

1. The Ordinary World
2. The Call to Adventure
3. Refusal of the Call
4. Meeting with the Mentor
5. Crossing the First Threshold
6. Tests, Allies, and Enemies
7. Approach to the Inmost Cave
8. The Ordeal
9. The Reward
10. The Road Back
11. Resurrection
12. Return With the Elixir

Scene Structure

• Interjections! Excitement! Emotion!

Character Types

• All About Heroes
• Those Damned Villains

Editing

Revision
Insights into the revision process.

• Technique
• Sharpening Characters
• Revision Planning
• Revision Lessons I
• Revision Lessons II
• Punctuation Schmunctuation
• My Revisions
• Steam Palace Revision Planning
• Steam Palace Heat Map Planning
• Steam Palace Final Heat Map
• Steam Palace Revision Indecision
• Steam Palace Alternate Versions
• A Revision Test
• The Revision Test
• Revision Test Results

Critique Technique
Critique is hard, and sometimes it can go wrong. Read up to see how to avoid the common pitfalls.

• The Ten Critiquers that you Meet in Heaven
• Critique Technique Part 1
• Critique Technique Part 2
• Critique Freak

NaNoWriMo
I've participated in (and won) four straight NaNoWriMo's. See these posts for inspiration and advice.

• "How To" NaNoWriMo:
• Week One Tips
• Week Two Tips
• Week Three Tips
• Week Four Tips
• NaNoWriMo for New Writers
• My NaNoWriMo Guest Post Link
• My NaNoWriMo Experience
• Why I NaNoWriMo
• My NaNoWriMo Anthem
• It's NaNoWriMo 2009 Time!
• The Post-NaNoWriMo 2009 Post
• NaNoWriMo 2010 Pre-post
• My Pro-NaNoWriMo Rant
• NaNoWriMo 2010 Halfway Report
• NaNoWriMo 2010 Cover
• NaNoWriMo 2010 Post-Mortem