Lara Zielinsky's Blog: Newsletter, page 15

NNWM – Setting

Setting is a major element that needs to be considered when planning a story. Because it is where the character lives and acts out the plot. I don’t address setting fully in my planning until I know both the characters and the plot. While some things can’t happen in certain settings and some things can […]

NNWM – Endings

I’ve finally come to the end of plotting. Today’s topic is appropriately planning an Ending, also called the Resolution. All things must end. Otherwise nothing new can begin. Even if you’re planning a series, the first book has to end or the next one cannot get started. The characters have to resolve, or determine how […]

NNWM – Plotting lessons learned

After the climax, the story actually should wrap quickly. What remains is the main character recognizing what they have been through, tending to wounds (emotional as well as physical), acknowledging loss, acknowledging newfound knowledge, repairing friendships that may have frayed as decisions were made out of necessity or expediency, but not necessarily kindness. This part […]

NNWM – plotting opposition

In yesterday’s post I talked about the main character’s plan for getting what they want. You’ve got a list of all these things they want to try for achieving their goals. And I asked you to consider if they would cheat. That would be sources of internal conflict. External conflict is the opposition that comes […]

NNWM – Plotting

Yesterday I discussed some ideas for developing characters. If you went along with the writing exercise and wrote a scene, what problem(s) did the character reveal? When a character has a problem they need to resolve, that becomes a character goal. A character’s goal sets them off in a direction. Once you’ve got a character […]

NNWM – Character Development

Many writers I know are getting ready for NaNoWriMo. I don’t do it myself because I always have projects going and don’t work well creatively with word count goals. I write a story following story plot structure from beginning to end. I do plan all my stories. I’m a teacher and an editor so I’ve […]

writing update

I have been very busy. It’s mid term for my graduate class and there’s this research paper due Thursday. But I have also been sneaking in a few fiction writing minutes over the last few weeks. Finally finished another scene for We Fit, the sequel to We Three, an erotic romance, emphasis on the romance. […]

Officially launched Ko-Fi

This weekend I went ahead and started a Ko-Fi account. https://ko-fi.com/widgets/widget_2.js... Me on Ko-fi’, ‘#29abe0’, ‘P5P22E0SB’);kofiwidget2.draw(); The donation level are multiples of $3, about the price of a coffee (or a whole gallon of tea, which I actually prefer). Metaphorical coffee breaks will help me find time to write. You might wonder why did I […]

Local PRIDE Celebrated Virtually

Our local LGBTQ Pride celebrations were held virtually yesterday (and will continue all this week). There was a car parade that wound through 15 miles of neighborhoods. I think this was more wonderful than the one-mile circuit they do every year on foot around a downtown park because it was more VISIBLE. Even though it’s […]

LGBT History Month: A Reading List

Forwarding this wonderful list: LGBT History Month: A Reading List by ChiPubLib_Adults – a staff-created list : In observance of LGBT History Month and for use year-round, we’ve compiled a list of recent and classic books about the history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. — Read on chipublib.bibliocommons.com/list/shar...