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On Novel Writing: One Pantser’s Method
I’ve been busy writing—working on those stories for the new volume of The 13, wrapping up Elven Games for December or January publishing, and planning for NaNoWriMo. I shared all about how I was a pantser last week, so, today I figured I’d share my personal writing method. Remember, this is how it works for me, so I don’t expect it to be the gospel on writing, but I do hope that you’ll take away something from it. Author Confession: I’m a full fledged pantser. A pantser? Yes, indeed. The very idea of an outline makes me break out in hives. I write everything from in my head straight to the keyboard. I’ve…
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The Art of Writing by the Seat of Your Pants
You find someone every day writing about the goodness of outlining, how to do it, and why you should. Perhaps you laugh. Perhaps you cringe. Perhaps you cry, start pulling your hair out, and gnashing your teeth, because no matter how hard you try, you just cannot stick to an outline. The chances are if you are nodding your head at that last statement, you are indeed, a pantser. What is a pantser? A pantser is a writer, author, novelist, screenwriter who “writes by the seat of their pants.” Often, they write the way they live, with spontaneity and a life filled with no planning (or the bare minimum anyway). These…
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Alpha, Beta, ARC: Find Your Tribe
Alphas, Betas, ARC… sigma chi? The last doesn’t exist in the writing world, but for as many years as I have been writing, I only heard about betas—you know, those people who read your work after you’ve done a 1,000 drafts on it and hope to God it’s finally really done. The idea of alphas and the fact that I have been using them all along was quite a revelation. Don’t even mention ARC readers. I just recently discovered the real meaning of those too! What is an alpha reader? The first person you let lay eyes on your first draft is an alpha reader. It’s a person you trust to…
