How I Survived NaNo as Just a Participant.

All too often, we tend to take this verse for granted: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16 For this Valentine's Day, I've unearthed an archived post (again) from the past year's holiday, recognizing the life and death of Valentinius, a third-century Christian martyr. (I say "again," because this is probably the third time it has been re-posted. . . I guess I am just a wee bit proud of my fictional work that I wanted to share it with our dear new followers, who may or may not have seen it before. . . This time, it is in letter form! Thanks to Photoshop :] ) Last year, and maybe the year before, I posted a letter on my Plain & Average blog describing what we know of the life of Valentine, a Christian martyr and saint. Using what research I found from various websites I put together a brief account of what could have happened during the time of St. Valentine. My character, Alessandra, is portrayed as the daughter of a warden to the Roman prison where Valentine was held as punishment for his belief in the Christian faith. Here is part of the original post: In honor of St. Valentine's Day, I would like to post a letter I wrote from the perspective of someone who might have known the Christian priest, Valentine, in the early 3rd century Rome. Please note: The names used (Alessandra Donati, Aldo Donati III) are fictitious and were only for the purpose of discerning the writer. However, Emperor Claudius II was indeed the emperor of Rome at the time of Valentine. Places such as Via Flaminia, Apennine Mountains, and Ariminum (known as Rimini, located on the Adriatic Sea) are present-day locations. The dates used in the letter are approximately correct according to various sites from which I found and researched the information regarding this letter. Also, the "fact" that the writer of the letter received Christ as her personal Savior may or may not be true. There is no indication in any of the accounts on the subject of the legend of St. Valentine. Again, this is a fictitious writing, please do not take it as total truth. There are so many different accounts of St. Valentines (plural) that it is hard to discern which are true. Please enjoy my account. Happy Valentine's Day! "For I am persuaded that not even death or life, angels or rulers, things present or things to come, hostile powers, height or depth, or any other created thing will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!" Romans 8:38

All in a Day's Work [PART 5].

Choosing the right point of view for your novel or short story is only half the battle. Make sure you're not making these tricky POV mistakes!

How I Plan to Survive NaNoWriMo.

Photo by Антон Воробьев on Unsplash Look look! Another series! It'll probably be pretty short since I can only think of fantasy,...

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All in a Day's Work [FINAL].

How you choose to structure and style your story's prose can make all the difference. Two of the biggest elements that affect your prose are, of course, point-of-view and tense. Does it really matter if you write your book in first-person or third-person? In past or present tense? In some cases, y

See this year's top baby names .

All in a Day's Work [PART 4].

Writers Write is your one-stop writing resource. Use this list we put together to create a spectacular magic system in your novel.

If you’re unsure of the benefits of writing every day, and if you would like to make the most of your writing prompts, please read How To Use Writing Prompts

7 Deadly Sins of Writing | CONTENT.

Are you creating a magic system? Here's a world building template with a few questions to consider as you create your magic system.

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by Stephanie Morrill In my experience, I can do the character worksheets. I can daydream the character's backstory. I can pin images on my Pinterest boards. I can figure out my characters' strengths, weaknesses, one-word descriptors, and growth words. But no matter how many of these things I do, I still feel distant from my main character until I get all the way through the first draft. I don't know why that is. The only theory I have is that it's like going through a hard time with someone, and how that shared experience brings you closer together. If you're doing the whole writing-a-book-thing right, your character is going through one of the biggest challenges of their life. Easing them through that situation is what makes you dig deep enough to figure out who this character truly is. Regardless of why this is true, I was comforted to read these words from bestselling novelist Angela Hunt and learn that this is a common experience; "I never feel that I know my characters until I've finished the first draft. We're like strangers mingling at a party, sharing a few whispers and hinting at buried secrets." - Angela Hunt Can you relate to this phenomenon? Are you similar in that you have to spend a certain amount of time writing a character before you really know them? Or does something else help you?

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What's in a Name? [Combo Edition].

Looking for next wave place names? With choices like London and Savannah, Hudson and Brooklyn in favor, the globe seems like a good place for look for surprising, stylish baby names.

by Stephanie Morrill We're continuing to celebrate the release of the Go Teen Writers book (available at Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and Kobo Books) with more free printables from the book's Extras section. today's is a list of our weasel words and phrases: Stephanie and Jill’s Weasel Words and Phrases These are words we overuse or that sneak into our first drafts despite our best efforts to keep them out. Stephanie’s List Quirked (my characters are always quirking eyebrows) So-and-so rolled her eyes/ran her hands through her hair Like Just Were Was Said Asked Very Smile(d) Sigh(ed) Really “Or something” (I like to throw that in to the end of a lot of my sentences for some reason. “We should go to the movies or something.”) Past/Passed—I have issues remembering which is correct. It—Especially at the start of sentences. Often “it” should be replaced with something more specific. Jill’s List Vague words Many, few, lots, a lot of, a little, some, most, almost, more, a few, rather, might, perhaps, much, often, for the most part, like, seem, etc. Absolutes Every, very, entire, everyone, everything, etc. Verbs that facilitate telling Feel/felt, see/saw, hear/heard, think/thought, look, watch, taste, smell, wonder, decide, notice, remember, recall, consider, ponder, is, am, are, was, were, has, had, have, etc. Infinite Verb Phrases (Starting sentences with —ing words) Continuous action words As, when, while, after, continued to. Pronouns Overuse of “they” or “them” tends to create the feel of an omniscient POV. Time transitions Just, then, as, the next day, all at once, soon, etc. Adverbs Softly, angrily, sadly, really, basically, immediately, very, actually, surely, usually, truly, suddenly, etc. Double verbs Started to, began to. Some other words on my list: Thought/though/through, loose/lose, there, it, be, being, been, became, that, well, poor, anyway, quite, however, about. And here's the printable: Stephanie and Jill's Weasel Words and Phrases

What if someone went through the biggest and best blogs on the internet, and pulled out the very best-of-the best tips for fiction writers? Keep reading for the first 25 of the best 101 fiction writing tips on the web.

by Jill Williamson Stephanie and I have been hard at work—writing a book! You're shocked, I know. This is no ordinary book, though. We've taken much of the information we've shared here on the Go Teen Writers blog, added a bunch more from our heads, and wrote a book for teen writers. It's a book on how to turn your book into a novel that's ready to be published. This is a guide for taking a complete first draft and editing it until it's ready for publication. We're totally excited about this. The book is available now in ebook formats. It's available in Kindle format on all the Kindle stores worldwide. It's also available on Barnes and Noble for the Nook and on Kobo. Click the links below to check it out (and click "like" for us when you do *wink*). Amazon Kindle Barnes & Noble Nook Kobo The print book is coming soon, and it's lovely inside. It will cost a bit more that the ebook because of the materials and all the extra companies that get a cut of it (printers, distributors, bookstores). It will be available in online and in bookstores. Your local bookstore might not have it on the shelf, but they should be able to order it for you. To celebrate, we're giving you some FREE content straight out of the Extras section in the back of the book. Here is the Go Teen Writers: Self-Editing Checklist (click here to download a printable copy), which is a great tool to get you started on the editing process. This self-editing checklist follows the content of the book, so it also serves as a nice peek at what we talk about! The Go Teen Writers Self-Editing Checklist Macro Edit Plot Is my story problem established early? Why should the reader care? How is the beginning of my story? Have I: •Shown the main character in his home world? •Presented my main character with an invitation to go on a journey? •Made it so he chooses to go on the journey? Have I given him a compelling enough reason? •Established my character’s goal? How is the middle of my story? Have I: •Given my main character multiple people, places, activities, or objects to love and fight for? •Presented my characters with multiple obstacles to overcome? •Designed several big twists in the story? •Created a big midpoint scene? •Created a clear disaster that leads to an “all hope is lost” moment for the character? •Made my other characters (antagonist and secondary) active? Are they living lives of their own? How is the end of my story? Have I: •Locked my main character into a final battle of sorts? •Written a convincing win or loss? •Written a denouement that fits the story? Characters Does my main character . . . •Have an internal and external goal? What does he or she want most in the world? •Have an inner desire? (Love, respect, honor) •Believe in a lie? •Choose to go on the story journey? If not, what would have to happen for him to choose to go? •Have multiple people, places, or objects he loves? •Go through grief when he loses something? Does my antagonist . . . •Have an internal and external goal of his own? •Actively work to foil the plans of my main character? •Have a compelling backstory and inner desire? •Believe in a lie? •Have anything or anyone he cares about? Do the other characters in the story . . . •Have different backstories from each other? •Have problems of their own? •Have something they want? Does it conflict with what the main character is trying to achieve? •Oppose or challenge my main character’s worldview? Setting Have I taken time to consider my main character’s feelings about the setting? What needs to be researched still? What are the “laws” for my setting or magic and are they consistent with each other? (Applies mostly to fantasy/sci-fi.) Theme Did any themes grow organically when I wrote the story? If so, what are they? Is there a way I can draw them out further? Is there a symbol I can use? Is this a theme my antagonist embraces as well or no? Micro Edit Check each scene for use of: Point of View Did I do a good job picking my POV character for each scene? Did I share anything that the POV character wouldn’t know? Do I jump into anyone else’s thoughts or do I try too hard to broadcast the thoughts and feelings of another character in the scene? Run a search for the words “they” or “their.” Can I replace any of these with words that better reflect my POV character? How is my balance of inner monologue? Am I letting the reader draw close to the character? Backstory and Flashbacks Did I over-explain anything in this scene? Did I tell the backstory from the POV characters worldview? If a flashback is used, did I put it at a time that makes sense? Dialogue Did I punctuate my dialogue in a way that makes my meanings clear? Did my characters use different words and phrases from each other? Have I considered this conversation from the views of all participants? Run a search for “said,” “asked,” and other dialogue tags I use often. Is there an action tag or thought beat that would work better? Why is my character saying this now? Why does she feel this is the right/best time? Are there places where I info dump in my dialogue? Pay close attention to spots where I refer to time. (“Since today is Thursday, your assignment is due in two days.”) In group conversations, how is the pacing? Is everyone pulling their own weight in the conversation? Telling and Showing Run a search for telling words: notice, found, spotted, experienced, looked, feeling, felt, watched, wondered, listened, tried, seemed, and thought. Did I use these words well? Or did I rely on them for telling the story instead of showing it? Search for telling adverbs. Am I saying “he walked quickly” when I could say “he rushed?” Run a search for the phrase “with a” and see if I tried to sneak in some telling that way too. Description Did I give context for my scenes within the first paragraph (location, characters, time)? Did I describe things through the eyes of my POV character? Did I mention any items that may be important later? (If someone throws a vase at the end of the scene, make sure to mention it when describing the room.) Was I smart about my word choice? Did I pick specific nouns, verbs, and adjectives that help set the mood for my story? What senses (taste, touch, smell, feel, hear) have I used in each scene? Can I use more or different ones? Freshening and Tightening Your Writing Survey the length of sentences. Do I need to vary them? Can I break up any long paragraphs? Read the scene for clichés and overused phrases. Apply the words of George Orwell to every sentence: 1. What am I trying to say? 2. What words will best express it? 3. Is there an image or idiom that will make it clear? 4. Is this image fresh enough to have an effect? Run a search for the word “it” and see if I can use a more specific word, especially if it’s the start of a sentence. Are there places I used two words when I could use one instead? Have I chosen the best possible words? Active, concrete words? Search for the words: as, when, while, after, and continued to. Make sure those sentences are in a logical order—action, then reaction. Hunt down passive phrases—search each scene for “was” or “is” depending on the tense of the book. Check any sentences that begin with —ing words. Check any sentences that use the phrases “began to” or “started to.” Have I formatted everything correctly? Is my title page single spaced and my manuscript double spaced? Am I using 12-point Times New Roman or Courier font? Does each chapter begin on a new page? Do I have one space after punctuation, not two? Run Spell Check Double-check for correct punctuation, grammar, and common typos: Run a search for those tricky words and any others I tend to misspell: “Chance” when I meant “change” Its/it’s Know/now Loose/lose Past/passed They’re/their/there Thing/think Though/through/thought Run a search for my placeholders. What’s a placeholder? Many writers, when they come across something they need to research or write in more detail but don’t want to take the time right then, they’ll put in a placeholder word or symbol to mark that they need to come back. Stephanie uses the word “GIRAFFE” for things she needs to fill in or an asterisk (*) if she’s not happy with a phrase but doesn’t have the brainpower at the moment to fix it. Jill tends to highlight the place that needs a little more love, or she’ll add a comment to remind herself what she needs to come back and finish. While typically you’ll have fixed them all by the end of the micro edit, always run a check for your placeholders just to be sure! Again, click here to download a printable copy of the Go Teen Writers: Self-Editing Checklist.

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I’ve talked a great deal about how much of a people watcher and relationship voyeur I am in previous blogs on my website. I have to admit, people watching is the best way for me to develop c…

Out of all the pitfalls of writing, surely the simple sentence isn’t one of them. But what if I said you’ve been writing sentences wrong all your life?