Scott Westerfeld's Blog, page 38

Nano Tip #17: Make Writing a Habit

One of your brain's jobs is to turn frequent actions into habits. If you force yourself to turn the lights off every time you leave a room, it eventually becomes automatic. If you open the fridge door every time you're in the kitchen, that too will become hardwired. You don't have to think when you tie your shoes or say thankyou; those actions are ingrained.

But what about more complex activities? Can writing be a reflex?

I am here to tell you yes.

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Make writing a habit.

But writing requires...

Chatting is over . . .

Done and done. Thanks for coming.

There were 216 of you!

You can still read the chat here at Suvudu.com.

___________

This evening at 7PM I'll be doing an online chat with Naomi Novik, author of the amazing Temeraire series (also known as His Majesty's Dragon).

To join in the chat, just go to Suvudu.com at 7PM eastern time tonight.

See you there!

Chatting Tonight

This evening at 7PM I'll be doing an online chat with Naomi Novik, author of the amazing Temeraire series (also known as His Majesty's Dragon).

To join in the chat, just go to Suvudu.com at 7PM eastern time tonight.

See you there!

Nano Tip # 15: Take a Day Off

That's right, NaNoWriMo-ers, take at least one day off this month. About now is good, because we're halfway through November and your brain needs a rest.

So take a day off and do nothing!

I know I just did.

Nano Tip #13: Pace Charts

It was only four days ago that I promised to do a multi-day post on meta-documents, but then I distracted by Passages of Disbelief, and failed to follow up.

So now it's time to double back and discuss another meta-doc I like to use: the pace chart!

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Now, you may ask, what in the world is a pace chart? Basically, it's any method you use to track the ups and downs of momentum in your book, the shifts from action to conversation to tension. Like all meta-docs, a pace chart allows you to step back f...

Nano Tip #11: Passages of Disbelief

Welcome to another tip for all you NaNoWriMo-ers out there. I'll be dolling out writing advice every odd-numbered day of November, and Justine will take on the even-numbered days. Don't forget to check out Justine's tip from yesterday, about not skipping the tricky parts.

But before I get started, you might be interested in this essay by me on John Scalzi's site, the Whatever. It's about working on Leviathan with Keith, and about illustrated books in general.

It also reveals a delicious new...

Nano Tip #9: Meta-Documents

As you probably know, Justine and I are doing writing tips for every day of NaNoWriMo. She's doing even-numbered days, and I'm doing odd. Her tip from yesterday about the glories of square brackets reminded me of something I've been meaning to talk about for a while. And I think it's going to be a multi-day thing.

So here's the first of several essays on the subject of meta-documents! (And don't forget to check below for my NYC appearance this Tuesday.)

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Sometimes in the headlong fury of trying ...

Nano Tip #8: Meta-Documents

As you probably know, Justine and I are doing writing tips for every day of NaNoWriMo. She's doing even-numbered days, and I'm doing odd. Her tip from yesterday about the glories of square brackets reminded me of something I've been meaning to talk about for a while. And I think it's going to be a multi-day thing.

So here's the first of several essays on the subject of meta-documents! (And don't forget to check below for my NYC appearance this Tuesday.)

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Sometimes in the headlong fury of trying ...

Nano Tip #7: Stealing from Chandler

Just got back from a wonderful mini-tour in Canada. Holly Black, Cassandra Clare, and I had a great time, and Keith Thompson enjoyed a warm welcome into the world of bookstore appearances. I think he will do more!

But now I am SLEEPY. So I'm cheating and pulling another old writing advice out of the e-drawer. It's from January 10, 2006, so only you old-school blog-stalkers will have read it before.

I promise to do a fresh one for Monday! And don't forget Justine's excellent advice from...

Nano Tip #5: Write Your Way Out

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I'm on tour in Canada this week, so today's Nano Tip will be a blast from the past. This post is from early 2005, when this blog was young and tiny. (It got a whopping seven comments, and I was well pleased with that.) And yet its ancient caveman wisdom is as true today as it was then!

So here it is again . . . "Write Your Way Out."

People in writing groups often ask me, "What do I do when I get conflicting advice? How will I ever decide which way to go?"

My answer is: "Try it both ways and see ...