Dancing just, you and me, long ago, but no more,
in your arms, twirling so, spinning such, love for you,
music grows, sweetly now, slow it down, swish about,
lights dim to, darkness so, shadows float, soundless with,
eerie moon, beams so low, I’m alone,
fade you did, from this house, all that’s left,
is your ghost, haunting me, ne’er to rest.
Here is a list of the top software of 2022 for writing a novel:
The one I use is Scrivener, but any of these are good. The following link talks about each of the above four all in one place. That way, if you need one of them, you can better make that decision about which to use.
Draft one of your story is like tarnish on your good silverware or your jewelry. There are parts of it that are discolored, or in the case of your story, make no sense, or is in need of more information. Your grammar and spelling may need to be cleaned up as well. That’s what the first draft is: a mess that needs to be fixed. But, hey, you have it down on paper (in an electronic document) right? Right. That’s what counts.
Once you get that first draft done, that’s when it’s time to clean the “tarnish” off and polish it up. So, you go back to the beginning of your story and start reading through it, all the while making notations of changes you might want to make. When that’s done, go back to the beginning once more and make those changes you noted.
Keep going over and over your story like that until it’s the way you want it. Make sure everything makes sense. Lastly, you want to check grammar and spelling and word redundancies. When that’s done, you will have a finely polished story that will shine its brightest.
Have you ever read a book, and you liked the characters so much that you didn’t want the book to end? Oh yes, I’ve been down that road myself. That means the author did their job of creating characters that stand out and touch your heart. But, how did they do that?
These are just some of the elements a writer uses in order to bring a richness to their characters. Take your time developing them. Observe people around you and jot down notes of things you see or hear them say or do.
Not everything you do when writing is going to work out the first time around. I think you know this already, but sometimes we can still get discouraged and still need reminding. There are times when something in your daily life can bring you down. It can affect your writing whether you might think so or not. For some people it won’t, but not everyone is the same. Let it add to your writing instead of distract you.
Keeping track of your story as you’re writing it can be daunting the lengthier it gets. You have to remember from one chapter and scene to the next what happens where. How does a writer track their stories information so that they can refer back? Story tracks, or at least that’s what I call them. In other words, note cards.
For each chapter take a few note cards and jot down a brief summary of the chapter or scene, or jot down the main ideas about what is going on. By doing this, if you need to refer back to a previous scene or chapter in your manuscript, you can refer to your note cards for each chapter first before scrolling back through all those pages worth of text in your manuscript. Trust me, it will save you lots of time.
In walked a woman who sat with the rest,
her clothes of silk and makeup smooth,
she had to look her best,
smile she did
and greetings pure,
who would have guessed that underneath
she seethed with vengeance sure.
The others were impressed
as they spoke with her aright,
and never did they see her
in any such different light,
it wasn’t till she dropped a word
with innocence so bright,
that shuttered and shook the others
against themselves with all their might.
Now, she was truly happy
with malice that brought delight
of having caused a killing ruckus
so scathing and impolite.
Below is a list of character flaws you might find helpful when creating characters for your story. It always helps to consult a reference when the mind goes blank and you can’t think of enough possible ideas. My article I published on January 18, 2021 called Character Flaws goes into more detail about this topic.
Components of creating tension:
If you’re having difficulty coming up with specific ideas that will create tension/suspense, think of it this way, play on your main character’s fears. Make them as uncomfortable and fearful as possible. Throw the works at them. Just don’t forget to give them the courage to work through that fear and accomplish the story’s goals.
Is there a right or wrong way to say something? Of course. But, not everyone will like what you say. You can’t please everyone. There will always be somebody who doesn’t like what you wrote. Maybe you wrote something regarding a certain topic and Person A didn’t agree with your ideas. Spoiler alert, here again, not everyone will agree with you. Let’s say Person A sends you a message saying you should have said “this” or “that”. And maybe Person A points out where you could go to get more information that would prove what you wrote was wrong. Then they tell you that maybe you need to correct what you wrote accordingly.
Uh, no. If you feel strongly about your words, stick with them. If it’s fact filled nonfiction, and your research is documented correctly, stick with your stance. Your job is not to please everybody who reads your writing. Your job is to write. Stick to your words.
There will be times when you want to respond back to someone who “stabs” your writing in the “heart”. It will make you angry/irritated. But, before you respond back to them, take a deep breath. Let it out slow and take five minutes to think of an appropriate response. Then, tactfully, respond to them (if you choose to).
WRITE TIME AND AGAIN 