L.M. Nelson's Blog, page 21
January 31, 2018
Where to Find Ideas for a Story
If you’re looking for story ideas or just want the neurons in your writing brain to fire, this is a great article. It has links to external sites that can offer more ideas too.
The Muse, he’s a flighty little minx. One day he’s shirtless, flexing his pecs and driving you crazy with story ideas. The next day, he’s out all night with his drinking buddies, not answering your phone calls, and ignoring your texts even though it’s 3 a.m. and you’re on deadline.
Two weeks ago I was stuck without an idea for a short story. My brain was an empty refrigerator with only moldy Havarti cheese and flat soda inside. Story inspiration can come from anywhere, photos, newspaper articles, or bits of conversations. I had tried everything to coax my muse out of hiding, online plot generators, pictures from Pinterest, Wikipedia searches, chocolate. Click after click on fantasy location images on DeviantArt yielded no results. Even when I had found something I liked, a first line didn’t materialize.
After three hours, I grew desperate. My eyes were bloodshot. Light from the computer screen…
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The Door
“Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open.” — Stephen King
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January 30, 2018
Opening Lines
[image error]Drake’s fingertips burned from tapping on the typewriter keys all night. With every keystroke, the hands on the clock moved faster. He only had six hours until his plane departed. Six hours to plead his case. After that, it would be too late.
-L.M.
Let’s hear your opening lines to this photo prompt. Ready, set, go…
Top Writing Tools of Famous Authors
This is interesting. Just goes to show that there is no right or wrong way to begin writing. Every writer has their own style.
What is your preferred writing tool?
My secret weapon is using a two screen layout for my PC. This allows me to work on the story on one monitor, while researching on the other. If you’re curious as to what writing tools great authors prefer, you may refer to the excellent infographic below, which was prepared by Robert Morris and the lovely people over at NinjaEssays.com. So, what is your favorite tool?
Five Ways to Squeeze More Writing Time Into Every Single Day
Does life get in the way and prevent you from getting in the writing time you desperately need? If you’re anything like me, this is a daily struggle. Here are some tips to help you squeeze more writing time into every single day.
via Five Ways to Squeeze More Writing Into Every. Single. Day.
January 29, 2018
When You Corner an Author: L.M. Nelson…An Interview
Check out my interview with the amazing Rachael Ritchey.
Do you ever wonder about the people behind the books floating around out there? You know, the books in cyberspace. The ones crowding shop shelves and stacked on the floor beside your bed. Those books.
Who are the people behind them? The ones we call writers, and dare I say…authors. Are they mind readers? Lofty billionaire types? Hermits? Too-cool-for-school celebrities?
What if they’re actually regular people just like the rest of us? You know, high school students, college grads, moms, dads, working stiffs, introverts, extroverts, introverted extroverts (holla!), bikini models, teachers, doctors, dreamers, movers, shakers… Yeah, I think you get the picture.
In order to pull back part of the curtain, I think it’s terribly fun to interview authors, those writer folks, and poke around in the clutter that is their brains. I love for you to meet the people behind the stories and have opportunities to make connections, build…
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January 28, 2018
The Writing Process – A Circle of Woe
Saw this and had to share.
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January 27, 2018
Author Spotlight – Roxanne Walker
Author Spotlight
I’m excited to introduce you to Roxanne Walker, fellow teacher and author of The Disappearing Act. Roxanne, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
“I grew up in the carnival, which was the family business. After graduating I went to college. After which I got a job teaching English in South Korea which compelled me to pursue my Masters in Education upon my return. I have been teaching English ever since.
Last year, to help inspire my students to write more, I told them that I would write with 
them and complete a story and publish it. It took me all year, but I completed my first book, The Disappearing Act by the end of the year and got hooked on storytelling! My leadership in writing earned me recognition from Ohio University where I got alumni of the month for leading my students through my own writing. I plan to complete my first series and write another!”
Let’s take a look at Roxanne’s book, The Disappearing Act.
![The Disappearing Act: Act 1 by [Walker, R.L]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1517142802i/24953188.jpg)
Zoe is just your average teenage girl expecting another average, hot, boring summer working the family business, a traveling carnival business that is. It’s all fun and games, until her friends start to disappear. In order to save them she must accept her telepathic powers and help catch the kidnapper before it’s too late!Review: What a fun little book! It has all the things you want from a book! Mystery, mayhem, crazy kidnappers, and telepaths! I really enjoyed the characters in this! I also loved the background setting of the Carnival/Fair. Roxanne knows all about this stuff so it was a real treat to learn more! Giving this 4/5 definitely recommend if you’ve got a kid in your life that’s looking for an adventure!
The Disappearing Act is available for purchase through Amazon.
Roxanne is also working on the Mysteries at the Museum Series. Here’s a little sneak peak: Kai discovers someone is stealing artifacts while doing her internship to learn more about her heritage. Soon she makes the connection between the missing artifacts and the pipeline going through the Navajo reservation. Hopefully, she can expose the truth before her heritage is destroyed.
Mysteries at the Museum it’s scheduled to be completed by April 2018.
To learn more, visit Roxanne’s Amazon author page. You can also connect with her through Facebook and Goodreads.
January 26, 2018
Four Ways Reading Makes you a Better Writer
Four ways reading makes you a better writer. Check it out.
Morning wonderful writers!
This week has been a fairly good writing week, and I’m feeling very positive about it! There’s no doubt at all that one of the reasons I’ve done so well is because I’ve read some brilliant books recently, and it’s made me want to get on and write mine.
The concept of reading to enhance writing is not a new one, but it is so important that it can’t be understated, and so I’d like to talk about it today, focusing on 4 ways reading makes you a better writer! Take a peek…
1. Reading enhances your understanding of story telling
All books are structured to tell a story with a beginning, middle and end. As a writer, you’ll be aware of how this simple structure is not actually easy to get right when writing a novel. The more you read, the more you get used to…
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Writing is the Great Invention
“Writing is the great invention of the world.” ― Abraham Lincoln
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