Kaye Dacus's Blog, page 53
March 9, 2015
Write: Writing Your Story Scene by Scene #ReadySetWrite
Hopefully by now, you’ve written a few possible opening scenes and you’re ready to move on with writing your story. Are You SCENE What I’m SCENE? When you sit down to work on your story, don’t think about “writing the story,” think about “writing a scene.” If you don’t think about what you’re doing in […]
March 4, 2015
Get Set: Writing Your Opening Scene(s) #ReadySetWrite
The first five pages. Hooking the reader. Crafting a killer opening. Writing a gripping first chapter. If there’s a book about the writing craft, there’s likely going to be a chapter—or a whole section—on the importance of a strong opening line/scene/chapter. Actually, there are entire books focused on just writing the openings (yet none that […]
March 3, 2015
Get Set: Setting Up Your Writing Space(s) #ReadySetWrite
We as writers are blessed with the ability to ply our chosen art form anywhere we might find ourselves—from jotting notes on paper restaurant napkins to what-if’ing on the order of worship during a long-winded sermon to plotting a three-book series on a butcher-paper table cloth during a dinner/concert. But this isn’t the most practical […]
March 1, 2015
What Are You Reading? (March 2015)
Happy First Monday of March, everyone. It’s Reading Report time! . Tell us what you’ve finished over the last month, what you’re currently reading, and what’s on your To Be Read stack/list. And if you’ve reviewed the books you’ve read somewhere, please include links! To format your text, click here for an HTML cheat-sheet. If […]
February 26, 2015
#CostumeDrama Thursday: Sons of Liberty (2015)
For the last year, I’ve been living without cable TV (about to remedy that TODAY!), so I’m sure I’ve missed a lot of made-for-TV movies, miniseries, and specials over that span (like the AMC show Turn, which had just been announced when I made the decision to cut the cord). So I’m going to have […]
February 25, 2015
Get Set: Getting into the Draft-Writing Mindset #ReadySetWrite
One thing that can make writers, whether trying for a first manuscript or a fiftieth, want to give up is the failure to realize the difference between regular writing and draft writing. Regular Writing In your normal, everyday writing life, when your main goal is to get something written every day, be it a paragraph, […]
February 24, 2015
Get Set: Structuring Your Story in Seven Steps #ReadySetWrite
If you’ve followed the other steps in this series so far (links at the bottom in case you missed some/all), you may feel ready to start writing. But just in case you aren’t, this week and next week, we’ll explore a few additional exercises to get set you up to be as ready as possible […]
February 17, 2015
Get Set: Figuring Out Your Characters’ Desires, Goals, and Motivations #ReadySetWrite
There are a couple of things lurking in the work you’ve already done up to this point which will be important to dig out and define at this point: your main characters’ goals and motivations. Your Characters’ Desires You can’t read a craft-of-writing book without reading about making sure that your characters want something, right […]
February 16, 2015
Get Set: Setting Writing Goals and Timelines #ReadySetWrite
In addition to getting all of the creative aspects of your story ready and set for writing, it’s important to make sure you have goals and timelines when it comes to how you’re going to write your story—and how long it will take you to write your story. It’s all well and good to be […]
February 12, 2015
Costume Drama Thursday: Comanche Moon #TBT
If it’s not obvious why I was originally excited to watch this TV miniseries, and why I continue to go back to it time after time, even though I don’t enjoy the storyline of it all that much, you haven’t been around here for very long! . Title: Comanche Moon Historical Setting: Texas, 1850s–1860s Starring: […]
