First Day of School Writing Prompt

I loved the beginning of school and looked forward to getting new clothes. It was the only time I got something that wasn't a hand me down. Then of course there were the books, lunchboxes and brand new crayons! Do you remember the waxy smell of the crayons as you pulled them out and tried to use them without breaking their perfect pointed ends? Construction paper and the smell of a freshly sharpened pencil?


Thinking back to my very first of school, I can remember standing outside with my new dress on and NOT smiling!
I grew up in a neighborhood full of kids my age, but not one of them were in my class.


So here is your assignment: Write a short story that deals in some way with the first day of school.
Leave a comment with the link to the story.
Have fun with it!

What a Summer!

Pat, me, and Pam in front of Gypsy Vanner horse

Hogwarts at Universal Theme Park

Hulk Roller Coaster

Gypsy Vanner Horse








This summer was full of travel for me and some friends. First, Pat Weaver, Irene Latham and I went to Richmond, Va, Williamsburg, Va and Chincoteague, VA. Then in another couple of weeks Pat's daughter invited us to share their suite in Orlando and we did two days of Universal and Island of Adventure. Boy was I tired! But what awesome rides. The simulated rides were the best. It felt good to play like a kid again While Pat was visiting me, she discovered the Gypsy Gold Farm These horses are a fairly new breed and they are beautiful You may think they are Clydesdale, but they are not as tall.  I also got a free course on couponing. Not quite extreme. I got an awesome idea for a story or maybe a novel. The seed has been planted and is germinating as we speak
What have you been doing this summer? Writing? Researching? Brainstorming? Leave a comment for a chance to win one of two books: Witherwood by Obert Skye or On Writing by Stephen King. Must reside in USA

August Book Giveaway Announced

I'm guessing you are anxiously waiting to see what books I am giving away in August.
Well you are in for a treat!

Stephen King's "On Writing" and Obert Skye "Witherwood" are the books for August.

I've read Stephen King's "On Writing" last year and was amazed this brilliant writer has the same problems I have staring at the blank page. His first novel was not snapped up! He writes with one reader in mind, his wife. He says he trusts her judgment if she says something needs fixed.




Witherwood Reform School by Obert Skye, illustrations by Keith Thompson. Pages 231
Copyright 2015, published by Christy Octavia Books a Henry Hot and company, LLC imprint.
Tobias and Charlotte Eggers may be a little more mischievous than most kids, but when they cross the line, their father loses it. He does what his father did to him, after all it worked for his father. He takes them to the top of the mesa and drops them off outside the creepiest, scariest building around. His plan was to let them think about what they did, while he drove down the hill. Then he would turn around, pick them up, and they would behave like good little children.
The only problem is he has an accident, and is unable to pick them up.
Tobias and Charlotte must fend for themselves.
The building turns out to be a school where kids are brainwashed. Wild animals surround the grounds, and these animals are strange animals, not like what we are familiar with.
Tobias and Charlotte are put to work, but at night they search the grounds, looking for a way out.
I can't wait to read the next book. I'm not going to tell you how the first one ends because it would spoil it for you.


Remember to leave a comment to be eligible to win the books. You must a USA address to win.
Check back to see if you have won.
Chris Bailey has won Janice Hardy book on Planning Your Novel. Please email me the address you would like your book sent to.
Sheila_renfro@cox.net


See you next week!

Winners of July Books







This is a picture I took of Rainbow Warrior. He is a 20+ year old horse on Assateague Island. He was much farther away, but I was able to zoom in on him. They stay on Assateague Island and are rounded up once a year for auction. This is the 90th year!

One of the newest foals.



Winner of the book: Planning Your Novel by Janice Hardy is Chris Bailey

The Winner of the book All the Answers by Kate Messner is Michelle Wallace

Winners, please send me the address you would like books shipped to. My email address is Sheila_renfro@cox.net

Next week I will announce the August book giveaways.

Figuring Out Your Writing Process

We have a very special guest with us today, Janice Hardy is the founder of Fiction University, and the author of the teen fantasy trilogy The Healing Wars, where she tapped into her own dark side to create a world where healing was dangerous, and those with the best intentions often made the worst choices. Her novels include The Shifter, (Picked as one of the 10 Books All Young Georgians Should Read, 2014) Blue Fire, and Darkfall from Balzer+Bray/Harper Collins. The first book in her Foundations of Fiction series, Planning Your Novel: Ideas and Structure is out now.

Figuring Out Your Writing Process

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Every novel needs a story, but how you develop that story can happen any number of ways. For example, I'm an outliner who likes to know what happens in every scene before I start the first draft. One of my critique partners is a pantser who prefers to have a general idea of the story and jumps in with little to no preparation. She figures out the plot as she sees what the characters do in the novel. Still another friend writes her novels completely out of order based on what scenes come to her and stitches them together afterward to form a cohesive story.

All of these are perfectly valid ways to write, and they couldn't be more different.

Using a writing method that contradicts or doesn't support your process might cause you to focus on the wrong things or stymie your creativity. You might feel compelled to stick to an outline even when your characters want to take the story in a different direction, or you could find that plotting the story in great detail beforehand makes the novel no longer fun to write (and thus it feels mechanical and boring).              

To help understand how your own process works, grab a pen and paper (or screen and keyboard), and answer the following questions:

1. How many important events do you like to know about your story before you start writing?

This can help you determine where on the outline to pantser scale you fall. If you know you lean more toward one side, you can focus your creative energy in ways that support that.

Do you like to know just the inciting event? Only the ending? Do you know just two or three big moments? Do you like to know every chapter goal? Every scene goal? Or maybe you go in blind and the fun is seeing how the story unfolds. You might even focus more on the individual scenes vs. plot turning points, and you can immediately picture several scenes you're already dying to write. 

Think about the novel you're currently writing. What are the key moments you know you want in the book? What scenes do you know you want to write? When do you reach the point where you think, "now I'm ready to write!"?

2. Do you need to know your character arcs?

If you're a character-driven writer, your stories might come from seeing how your characters grow and change, and you'll crafts plots that allow those changes, or happen organically as you write.

Do you know how your characters change? Do they change? Do you consider their emotional journey or focus more on the external plot events? Do you use the character arc to create conflict in your plot arc?

Think about your characters and where you'd like them to be by the end of the novel. Do you have character arcs in mind for them, or would you rather see how they grow as you write the first draft?

3. Do you plot off your reveals?

If you’re writing a mystery or thriller, the story might hinge more on when information is revealed. If events need to happen in a certain order, they can guide you through your plot.

When do clues need to be found? Secrets revealed? Secrets discovered? Are there any reveals that affect how the story will unfold?

Think about what information you want to reveal to your readers and when that information needs to come out. Does a large percentage of the plot depend on these moments?

4. Do you write towards a theme?

Themes are a great unifying structure for outliners and pantser alike. Major thematic elements can guide a story as easily as character goals. What problems best exemplify your theme?

Are there recurring themes that connect characters or story ideas? Do multiple scenes, conflicts, or goals all focus on the same theme? Do your scenes mostly explore the theme?

Think about how strong theme is in your storytelling drive. Is it something that's determined afterward, or is the entire story an illustration of this theme?

5. What stops you writing?

Now that you have a better idea of what you need to start writing, look for the things that stop you writing. The places you struggle with, the moments that drive you away from the keyboard.

Where do you often stall in a story? Do you find yourself having to go back and research something? Figure out a major plot point in the same basic area every time? (Like middles bog you down, or that next big moment right after the inciting event) Do you need to work on character arcs before you can move forward?

Think about the things that stop you. You might consider spending a little extra time on them at the start and avoid hitting a wall later. Make them part of your process so the writing itself goes smoothly.

Putting it all together

You might be the type of writer who needs just a general idea before diving into a novel, or you might mix and match any of the above--deciding on a few major plot events, the basic character arc turning point, and the big reveals to create a rough outline. You might only know your theme and your protagonist and run with it. Take a little time to think about how you’ve crafted your novels, what worked, what roadblocks you hit and when, and discover the process that works best for you.

For those who aren't sure how much planning they need, try this basic six-point outline for a little structure:

• What's your opening scene?
• What's the inciting event?
• What is the first major event that goes wrong or changes the path of your protagonist?
• What major surprise can happen in the middle?
• What is the moment when it all looks hopeless?
• How does it end?

A writer’s process is a personal thing. A cookie-cutter template might not work for you, but it doesn’t take a lot of work to create a guide that fits your style and guides you onward.

Looking for tips on planning your novel? Check out my book Planning Your Novel: Ideas and Structure, a series of self-guided workshops that help you turn your idea into a novel. It's also a great guide for revisions! 

Leave a comment and you might win a copy of Janice's book!

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Indie Bound

Planning Your Novel: Ideas and Stgructure by Janice Hardy

When I first started writing my work in progress, I had an idea, a beginning and ending.
Do you see anything missing here, like the middle?
That is why it took me years to finish the first draft!
I liked to write but other than poems that I would not dare share with anyone and a few short stories, I had never written a novel from beginning to end.
Then came the NaNoWriMo.
And I wrote garbage and it felt good. No one will ever see that mess! But it proved to me I could write and finish a novel. So the next year came around and I did NaNoWriMo again, and this time I finished my WIK. It wasn't too bad either. There are a few structural flaws and a lot editing yes, but I have the backbone down. The elusive middle has been filled.
So what does this "Planning Your Novel" have to do with this post,if I figured it out on my own?
For one thing, I could have saved myself years of going round and round in circles trying to figure out how to make the middle stand up and not lose track of where I wanted to go.
Why didn't I just outline and be done with it? You think I didn't try that? Ha!
At the Florida SCBWI Mid Year Workshop, Sara Pennypacker said that she writes her stories and then goes back to check to make sure it is structured correctly. That made me feel somewhat better, and that is how I will be using this book, this time. Hopefully the next novel won't take nearly as long as I will have found my writing/planning process.
In her book, "Planning Your Novel,"Janice Hardy says there is no right way or wrong way to plan your novel. Some writers use a mix of outlining, freestyle and panster. That was good news to me!
THEME:
Now that the novel is written there is this thing called "theme". I was having trouble figuring out what my theme is for this novel, a mystery. In workshop number four, she gives clear instructions on how to define your theme, and yes you can do this after the story is written, and yes it would be easier to do before your story is written (hint for next novel).
Planning Your Novel: Ideas and Structure is written in workshops, so you can go directly to the workshop you need to work on. Each has an exercise for you to do.
Janice Hardy also has a website in which she interviews authors on their writing process at Fiction University. I have found this book so helpful I'm keeping this one but have another one ordered and on the way for some lucky reader!
What is your writing process?
What are some of the problems you have or have resolved?
Please leave a comment to be eligible to win this book.


Next week Janice will be doing a guest blog here.
See you next week,
Sheila

July Books Giveaways Plus Study in Plotting a Chapter Book

The winner of last month's Where Do You Get Your Ideas? by Fred White is Courtney Rene.
Please contact me to collect your prize.

For July we have All the Answers by Kate Messner AND

Planning Your Novel: Ideas and Structure by Janice Hardy.   

Janice will also be joining us Sunday July 26 for a guest blog.
Mark it on your calendar.
More about this next week. But be sure to leave a comment to be eligible to win.


Now on to my self study for plotting a chapter book.


I've been reading Barbara Seuling's book on How to Write a Children's Book and Get it Published.
In Chapter Ten- Writing Early Chapter Books  Ms Seuling suggests reading a chapter a book and then write a one sentence summary for each chapter. By doing this I discovered how a plot and subplot coincide.
Each chapter mentions both the plot and subplot even if it is only a sentence or short paragraph.
Since I'm interested in writing mysteries I chose Oh No, It's Robert by Barbara Seuling. In the first chapter, Robert wants something to go on his family's award shelf. We learn about how Robert is not good at anything.
In chapter three the mystery is revealed: Who's scribbling in the books.


This exercise showed me how to plant clues, red herrings and how many and tie it in with the main plot.
What are you working on?
What do you struggle with?


See you next week!
Sheila