Heather Wright

Writing Tips and a Writing Pledge

Image courtesty of Laura Ritchie WANA Commons

I just found this link a few days ago and want to pass it along. CBC Books is a website containing all things writerly created by the Canadian Broadcasting Company. (I can’t tell you how lucky I feel to live where a national broadcaster promotes reading and writing.) Within that site is a set of pages called Canada Writes, which contains a series of writing tips from Canadian authors. I’ve only had a chance to read a couple of them and I’m already printing and saving them to read again. So if you’re looking for some great writing tips, check out Writing Tips at Canada Writes.If you’re a mystery writer, you also might want to explore Louise Penny’s five-part series on writing mysteries. Here’s one to explore: http://www.cbc.ca/books/canadawrites/2012/05/louise-penny-master-class-things-i-wish-id-known-before-starting-my-first-book.html

You can tell that the muse/creativity/inspiration and I aren’t on speaking terms at the moment because that’s when I read about writing rather than do the writing. I’m hoping that our separation doesn’t last too much longer, but in the meantime, I think it’s okay to fill the cup with some reading, too.

I have a friend who does daily writing exercises, whether they are about her book or not. I admire her enormously, and I think she’s absolutely on the right track. I also believe that it’s something I should be doing, too. If I want to keep calling myself a writer, I feel that I should be writing every day. I have writing gigs with deadlines that help pay the bills, but my creative writing has stagnated for a long time—and I miss it. So, I’m going to pledge to write every day for a month and keep you posted on my progress. If you want to join me, we can keep each other motivated, and I’d love the company!

Time Travel Tips

Image courtesy of Lynn Kelley WANA Commons

I am in the process of rethinking a current project and looking for a way to solve one of my major problems with the character. The book is set in medieval England, and my young hero just lacks the spark he needs to connect to the reader. In a brain blast, I realized that the way he spoke was a barrier to young readers–and to me, trying to bring him to life. But if he was a modern kid in a fish-out-of-water situation, I could use the language I want to write, and I think the story would be more fun for the reader. Time travel was the solution I came up with. A bit of The Time Machine and a bit of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

But …

I don’t know very much about time travel except for reading the two books mentioned above. I would love to hear your suggestions for time travel novels (for readers of any age) or how-to-write books that would help me research this framework for my story.  I don’t want to copy anyone, but I do want to understand what the conventions are–does present time move in synch with past time, for instance, or is present time ‘on hold’ until the traveller returns? That sort of thing.

All help will be welcome. I look forward to your suggestions–and some great reading!

Does Your Character Have a Secret?

It’s no secret that I would love to visit this place again–Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia

Two weeks ago I had the great fun of spending three days at Ridley College, working with the Grade 11s who were writing short stories. Because I was there last year, I didn’t want to go in with exactly the same material I used on that visit, even though the focus for my workshops was basically the same. To prepare, I did more reading about writing, focusing on character and dialogue, and found some great tips that I could pass along.The students’ imaginations went into high gear when I suggested that their character should have a secret. When they were asked to think about their own secret, it was clear that we had struck a chord. We all know something about ourselves or our families that we don’t want other people to know. The students also talked about short stories that they had read previous to my visit; they had no problem defining the characters’ secrets and how they added to the conflicts in the stories.

I challenged them to complete the following sentence from their character’s point of view: “I would die if anyone found out that I ….” We played with a couple of examples and saw how adding a secret gave a character one more challenge to face before he or she reached her goal. The secret upped the conflict and involved the reader.

I wish I had thought of this idea myself, but I got my inspiration from Lee Martin in his chapter, “Subversive Details and Characterization” in Naming the World: And Other Exercise for the Creative Writer, a fabulous book edited by Bret Anthony Johnston. I offer my heartfelt thanks to my friend Heather who suggested I read it.

Do your characters have secrets? Does the threat of revealing them motivate their actions or motivate their reactions to situations and other characters? Think about your favourite books. What secrets motivate those characters? Drop by the comment box and don’t keep your answers a secret! 🙂

November Writing Prompts

November 1st has arrived and with it my decision to skip NaNoWriMo this year.  Part of me would love to join that crazy writing world for a month. I enjoyed the process a lot and loved tracking my wordcount and watching others work toward their goals. But, I feel like I’m in survival mode with a lot of other work and things on my plate, so no NaNo. On the plus side,  I have a new writing gig to keep me busy and I’m planning more brainstorming sessions for another project I want to work on, so some creative work is ahead for me.

I did something totally different last weekend and put brush and paint to paper at an art workshop.  I’m always fascinated with things medieval and the project was based on a medieval herbal. A sample of my efforts is in the photo. I really enjoyed the day. I used to paint “a bit” many years ago and it was fun to get out the paints and play again. The nice thing was that the final products were very small–something you could finish in an hour or so and they didn’t occupy much work space either. I find it very calming, too. While I’m painting, my brain really can’t cope with anything else but deciding where I’m going to put the brush next. Time passes and the to-do lists and have-tos recede into the fog–and I get a pretty picture at the end. Gotta love that!

Instead of writing prompts this month, here are links to two writing prompt creators that provide endless combinations of ideas to spark your imagination. I challenge you to try each of them just once.

The Writer Igniter: http://diymfa.com/writer-igniter

The Brainstormer: http://andrewbosley.weebly.com/the-brainstormer.html

Have you found any great sources of writing prompts that you’d like to share? I’m always looking for more links to add to the blogroll at my book’s website. There are nearly 80 of my own writing prompts on that site, too. Hope you all have a creative month ahead!

Thinking of NaNoWriMo

Just for fun. My picture of “Nemo” from the Boston Aquarium.

I said in my last post that October was a busy month at my house, and that I was thinking of signing up for NaNoWriMo again. I’ve started twice.

The first time, I began a romantic suspense novel that was lots of fun to write—but I got about 23,000 words in and realized that, if I could make time to write for fun, I could write the book that matched my real passion, instead. The finished product didn’t have nearly the excitement or any exotic locations, but that’s when Writing Fiction: A Hands-On Guide for Teens was born. (My son carried on and finished his 50,000+ words on deadline. He was 13.) The next time we sat down to try NaNo, my mother-in-law became gravely ill, and creativity, and a lot of other things, went on hold for a long time as we coped with our loss.

So, it’s been a while since I thought about a 50,000-word November. And thinking about it has made me start looking for resources and NaNo tips that I can pass along, whether you’re thinking of a November marathon or just getting your writing on track.

1)      Here’s a link to Kristen Lamb’ Blog that I recommend you visit soon. For the past 5 Mondays, she’s been writing about structure, which in her words is “critical. Why? Because structure is for the reader. The farther an author deviates from structure, the less likely the story will connect to a reader.” Her weekly tips will keep your story on track and help you make that essential connection to your reader.

2)      Some writing starters might be handy. These are ones that I’ve created. There are some links to other writers with great writing tips and prompts in my blog roll, too.

3)      And to get you started a link to Lucienne Diver’s post on beginnings.

So have I made my decision about NaNo? Not yet. But the more I think about it … Well, I’ll keep you posted. What are your writing plans for November? Do you have a system that keeps you accountable for a daily word or page count? I’d love to know how you meet your writing goals.

October Writing Prompts

I love October. Where I live, it means rainy and foggy days mixed with days of glorious sun and the bright colours of changing leaves. It’s also birthday month for my husband and me and our anniversary. Lots of excuses not to cook dinner! Who could ask for more?

I’ve created some October writing prompts to keep you busy now, and perhaps thinking ahead to NaNoWriMo. Are you thinking of signing up this year? I might sign up, just to post a running writing record for the month–and not worry about the word count. Just doing the writing at all will be a big enough accomplishment.

Here you go–

1. Try these opening sentences and see what happens.

  • “Can you see that, too?”
  • The cellar floor was damp and cold, and after two hours, my body felt the same.
  • Halloween isn’t for ghost and monsters; it’s for bullies.
  • The rain drenched my clothes and slapped my hair into my face, but I couldn’t stop now.
  • The trick would be getting into the party unnoticed. The treat would be finally getting even.

2. Freewrite around one, some or all of the following: moon, apple, paper, echo, scent, running, cat

3. See if you can find inspiration in things orange and black: pumpkins, cats, sunsets, midnight, tigers, Baltimore orioles, paint, licorice, chrysanthemums, warning lights, jelly beans.

4. Here is some dialogue to play with.

  • “What’s in the bag?”
  • “None of your business.”
  • “But–“
  • “But nothing. You’re safer not knowing.”

*********************

  • “Let me help you.”
  • “I’m fine thanks.”
  • “Everyone can use a little help.”
  • “Ow! That hurts!”

Hope your October is off to a great start!

Social Media Decisions and Questions

Hi Everyone,

I’ve finally taken the leap and created a Facebook page for Heather Wright Writer. It’s a place for me to share links to articles that I think will be useful to other writers. I belong to a number of groups where I’ve posted these links in the past, but the groups have become more “buy my book” groups with most of the posts being along those lines and that’s not where I want to be.

On my page, I try to post a link to something useful and writerly every day or two, so you’ll only hear from me once a day at the very most–and I won’t be using it to post advertising promos about my books. I might offer a link to a free chapter, but that would probably be it. Please follow along if you think you would be interested.

I’m on Twitter, too, if you’d like to follow @hwrightwriter. Once again, you can look at my list of recent posts and see that I don’t send out automated sales messages every 2 hours and rarely do any book promotion unless it’s to specific groups that I think will find my work useful. If you want to read someone who (better than I) expresses her dismay at the use of Twitter for bombarding people with marketing messages, drop by Kristen Lamb’s excellent blog and see what I mean.

How are you handling your social media choices? Do you have more than one FB page or blog or Twitter account? How do you feel about book marketing on social media? Do you buy books based on Twitter marketing blurbs?

September Writing Prompts

Summer vacation pic.

After so many years of attending school and being a teacher, Labour Day is the day that marks a fresh start for me–sort of an early New Year’s Day. This is the time of year that I make those resolutions to write more, exercise more, schedule more ‘me time’, get my life in balance.

I think part of the reason for this is that, once school begins, I’m on a schedule. That daily work timetable makes it more likely that I will timetable other important things in my life, too. I keep a daily calendar during the school year with times blocked off for classes, and then what I have left are tempting blank spaces to fill with other projects. Love that.

How do you block out time for your writing and the other important things in your life? Do you keep a daily calendar or diary? Does Labour Day seem like New Year’s to you?

Here are some writing prompts to play with in September.

1. Freewrite using one, some or all of the following words: leaves, books, new, bright, time, hope

2. Try one of these opening sentences and see where the story takes  you.

  • “Where did you come from?”
  • The screech of gulls stopped her in her tracks.
  • Charlie read the inscription in the front of the book again. Now, what does that mean, he wondered.
  • After four days, Jeff had had enough.
  • I hated it when she smiled that way.
  • It didn’t take long to realize that, once they found the body, I was going to be suspect number one.

3.  Some dialogue to play with.

  • The fire is out.
  • Don’t look at me! I’m no boy scout.
  • I figured that out already. Just what are you?

or

  • Why do you keep staring at that painting?
  • I know who painted it.
  • Well, that’s not difficult. His name is in the corner.
  • You don’t understand. I know who really painted it.

4. Here are some September-related song titles. Try one as the title of a story or poem.

See You In September, September Song, It Might As Well Rain Until September, September Morning, Autumn in New York, My September Love, Chill Of An Early Fall.

What I’ve Been Doing This Summer

201 Writing Starters

This is one of the projects I’ve been working on this summer, and I’m happy to say it’s finally online.

In 201 Writing Starters, I’ve collected previously published writing prompts and added over 100 more. I’ve also included an article, “Keeping the Writer in You Motivated,” to help keep you inspired when the writing doldrums hit.

Currently 201 Writing Starters is only available at Smashwords, but in a week or two, it should be available at other online booksellers. I’ll keep you posted!

If  you have a moment, please drop by Smashwords to explore the book and download some sample pages.

Enjoy!

Book Cover for Sherlock Holmes and the Orphanage Mystery

Sherlock Holmes and the Orphanage Mystery cover art by Elly Lee

No, it’s not a missing story from the Doyle canon. It’s the cover for a book that I wrote for JLS Storybook Project, a publisher that creates ESL material for Korean students learning English. I had a wonderful time writing the book and can’t wait to see the published product–and the other illustrations that are inside. Many thanks to the illustrator, Elly Lee.

In Sherlock Holmes and the Orphanage Mystery, two children who are living on the street  desperately want to be members of Holmes’ Baker Street Irregulars. Going under cover in an orphanage, they use their wits, secret messages, and street smarts to unravel the villains’ plot and earn a place in the Irregulars–and a new home.

It was great fun renewing my acquaintance with the Holmes’ stories while I did research for the Orphanage Mystery. I hope my story leads the students to read the originals sometime, and that they enjoy them as much I as do.

Have you ever written a story or book using characters created by other authors? Who would you like to write about?

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