Kaye Dacus's Blog, page 55

Get Ready: Is Your PREMISE Ready? #ReadySetWrite

It sounds like the stupidest thing to start with, but if you’re going to write a book, you need to know what you’re telling a story about. In other words, you need a premise. I have a story idea, thanks. Well . . . story premise is a bit more complex than a story idea. […]

Ready. Set. Write.: Planning, Preparing, and Writing Your Novel This Year

It’s the beginning of another year, which means people have set New Year’s Resolutions (I set measurable, personally achievable goals instead). And this is the year you’ve promised yourself that you’re finally going to get around to writing that novel. The one that you’ve always dreamed of writing but have never actually sat down to […]

Fun Friday: Classic Literature as Contemporary Video Blogs

Two years ago, I got caught up in the internet/YouTube sensation known as The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. Not only did I love watching it, I was also a Kickstarter contributor for the DVD set. And I preordered the novelization audiobook the minute the link went live on Audible. What started with LBD has now become […]

Setting a 2015 Reading Challenge

Since setting category goals worked so well for me in 2014, I decided to do it again in 2015. Only this time, I decided to go a completely different route. My overall reading goal is 53 books—to one-up myself from 2014. Once again, I’m taking 25 of those spots and assigning specific category goals to […]

Books Read in 2014

For the last several years, I’ve tried different ways of setting reading goals for myself—from choosing specific books (and that almost never worked out) to just setting a numeric goal. Last year, I tried something new. Goal #1—Read at least 50 books in 2014 I exceeded this goal by two, ending with a total of […]

What Are You Reading? (January 2015)

Happy New Year, everyone! It’s Reading Report time. . I know it’s not the first Monday of the month, but next week, we’ll be looking at the Year in Review for 2014, so I wanted to get this post in early. Tell us what you’ve finished over the last month, what you’re currently reading, and […]

What is your favorite #writing craft book–and why?

I’m gearing up for 2015 to be a year of getting back into the swing of not only blogging regularly but of several new craft-of-writing series. But it’s been a while since I’ve updated my writing-craft bookshelf so . . . . . What is your favorite writing-craft book–and why?Filed under: Authors/Reading, craft of fiction […]

What Are You Reading? (December 2014)

Happy First Monday of December, everyone. (Bet you thought I was going to forget again, huh?) 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 […]

10 Years Later, ‘North & South’ Remains the Greatest Period-Drama Miniseries of All Time

Originally posted on Flavorwire:
Ten years ago tonight, the BBC premiereda four-part miniseries, North &South (not to be confused with the Patrick Swayze-starring civil war drama of the same name), adapted from Elizabeth Gaskell’s 19th-century novel ofcross-class romance in the industrial North of England. The BBCdidn’t harborhuge expectations for the series, coming as it did…

A 2014 Reading Challenge Check-In

With just seven weeks left in 2014, I thought now would be a good time to review my reading challenge and see if I’m going to meet both goals I set for myself. Goal #1—Read at least 50 books in 2014 I will meet this goal, no problem. I currently have books #47, 48, and […]