Category Archives: Editing

Roaming the Blogosphere: Writing & Publishing Tips

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Jennifer Jensen

I’m between school semesters, so of course the blogs that shouted “Bookmark me!” this month were almost all on focused on writing, publishing and/or marketing a book. Here are a few of the posts I bookmarked, starting with some humor: Nick Cross shares definitions of syndromes we writers tend to succumb to.  Read NOW if you’re in need of a laugh! I’ve just discovered that The Creative Penn has podcasts!  (Okay, okay, I know I’m a little slow on the uptake.)  Here’s a great one on characters by Roz Morris.  There’s also a link to a long list of previous podcasts – great for exercise walks! Margie Lawson from Writers in the Storm has a great post about “What’s the Visual?”  She uses that one phrase to get the show-don’t-tell point across – complete with examples from her students’ work.  Even if you’re pretty good at showing already, it’s well … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog Mashups, Blogging, Editing, Publishing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Roaming the Blogosphere: Writing & Publishing Tips

Great Writerly Blogs and . . . THE WINNER

Posted on December 11, 2011 by Jennifer Jensen

The contest is over and we had a blast!  Samantha Warren had a humdinger of a 30th birthday celebration, we all had fun visiting various blogs looking for answers and finding interesting new blogging voices, and by now some lucky person has won a Kindle Mini.  I actually came in second on one day’s quiz and won a copy of Reluctant Guardian from Kristy K. James, but since I was participating with my blogs, I wasn’t eligible every day and so didn’t have a chance at the Kindle Mini.  Awwww.  But hey, a Kindle Touch is still on my Christmas list! Hmm, let’s not get sidetracked here.  The winner of Stephen King’s On Writing here is . . . Francelia Belton!  She’s a writer, a fellow member of the WANA1011 class, and is just setting up her blog.  Maybe when it’s live, she’ll stop by here and post a link!  … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog Mashups, Editing, Writer's Life | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Turn a Childhood Memory into Fiction

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Jennifer Jensen

Many of us started out writing stories based on childhood happenings:  being picked on by a bully, feeling left out, falling off a rope swing, getting a pony, getting bucked off a pony.  (Hey, there’s got to be someone else out there that got bucked off a bazillion times, too.) The problem comes when the story gets stuck in our past and doesn’t gain a life of its own. The process tends to work something like this: Think of a fun or traumatic incident. Write it in story form. Fictionalize it by changing names, places, how many siblings, etc. Try to make the opening more exciting. Realize it’s lacking something. Try to add conflict.  Maybe even add a friend or sibling who wasn’t actually there. Take a bigger chance and change the dialogue or action to what you wish you said or did, instead of what actually happened. Give it … Continue reading →

Posted in Characterization, Children's/YA, Editing, Plot | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Weekly Blog Mashup for Writers

Posted on December 4, 2011 by Jennifer Jensen

As I browse blogs each week, I’ll post a mash-up of the best ones here.  Some have great writing tips, some are focused on publishing, and some are just plain fun.  Enjoy! First, some awesome advice from Joanna Penn:  Writer’s Block: The 12-Step Cure Jane Friedman has a great post over on Writer Unboxed about shifting our normal writers’ attitudes about query letters and blog headlines. If you’re interested in finding like-minded people on Twitter, with some Twitter etiquette thrown in, try Kristen Lamb’s excellent post here. Children’s and YA writers know that the kids need to solve their story conflicts themselves, not have parents or teachers step in for them.  But does that mean parents shouldn’t show up at all?  Kait Nolan has some great advice. And last but not least, have a little fun with I Write Like….  You enter several paragraphs (or more) of your own writing, … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog Mashups, Children's/YA, Editing, Writer's Life | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Finding a Short Story Ending

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Jennifer Jensen

I turned my short story in yesterday and I’ve discovered what happens when a Plotter tries to write as a Pantser:  the story comes out well, but when Pantser gets to the end of the story and she finally has everything figured out, said Pantser has to go back and completely re-write the beginning! Not fun, but okay.  Seriously. As mentioned last week, I knew my main character would find her daughter’s diary, be tempted, and finally read it.  I spent an evening writing teenage diary entries (complaints, gossip, and a whole lot about her boyfriend behind closed doors), and the next day it took me several rambling pages of the mother’s worries before she even read it.  I still didn’t know how it would turn out. When I wrote the second half, I discovered that the teenager the Mom was reacting to wasn’t the deceitful girl becoming sexually involved … Continue reading →

Posted in Editing, Plot, Writer's Life | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments