Amy Laurens's Blog, page 100

The Impact of Scene Endings: A Writing Workshop

A lot of writers unfortunately aren’t really aware of the impact that scene endings can make, and if they are, it’s often in an implicit, intuitive sort of way. A few years ago, I devised this example as a way of teaching scene breaks to students, and some of my writing friends found it helpful. It occurred to me that I’ve never actually blogged about this, so… Blogging. Scene breaks, particularly endings, and the importance thereof. Ready? :)

[Just noting that this explanation draws on Holly...

On Prepping for NaNoWriMo (And Novel-Writing Generally)

The twinny one, Liana Brooks, has an awesome article up on the Critique Circle blog about prepping for NaNoWriMo. Somewhat conveniently, it’s also generally applicable to writing a novel, and is more or less something like the process she and I actually follow when plotting novels. Definitely worth a read, particularly if you’re a writer who struggles through the Dreaded Middles. The link again. Go read. You won’t be sorry. :)

Announcements and Stories and Adminy Glories!

Because who doesn’t love a good rhyme, amirite? O:)

ANYway. I meant to post about all this two, maybe three weeks ago, but then the site went down because I tried to update wordpress, and then I was away for a week because my darlingest baby sister graduated from high school, and then Stuff. And Things. And probably a lot of Nonsense.

Anyway (redux). Here we are. It’s nearly the end of September (behold, the terror!!) and I am staring down the barrel of a scant 9 more school weeks until summer/...

It’s Only My Opinion (Repost)

The rise of the internet has often been heralded as the rise of the common man. No longer are news, literature, and written communication in all its more general forms something that remain the exclusive domain of the rich, famous, or well-eductated. These days, anyone can – and does – have a say.

Nobodies can rise to fame in a matter of hours via youtube; authors who otherwise wouldn’t stand a chance can develop a sales base through blogging and social networking.

Everyone can have a say.

The i...

A Reading Meme, Because Because.

So, I totally thieved this meme from Laura K Curtis, who, by the way, has an excellent post up at the moment about protecting yourself and your data online that you should all go read right now. It’s okay. I’ll wait until you’re done… :)

Done? Okay. Cool. On to the meme-ing……..

A. Author You’ve Read The Most Books From:Terry Pratchett. Hard to compete with a series that is 30+ books long :D Although if you counted rereads and not just individual books, the Harry Potter series is up there (27 re...

In Which I Pep Talk (Repost)

And this repost, obviously, is applicable to so much more than writing. This is one of those old posts I read and go – wow, you know what? I actually used to be kind of smart sometimes! *shakes head*. But anyway, for writing, just substitute YOUR dream, because the point still applies: if it’s a Dream, not just a dream, it won’t go away, and nor should it. *fistbump*

I really just need a blog post to ramble in today, and this is it. I’ve been stalling on HH edits all week, because I’m doing le...

Honesty (Repost)

Obviously, when I say in the first line down there that I mentioned something ‘last week’, this is no longer true, because this is a repost of an article I first wrote in, like, 2009. But the sentiment still rings true, so you know ;) :D

I mentionedlast weekthat I think ‘honesty’ is an important quality of a great writer. I need to respond to the comments (sorry!), but something struck me as I was reading them: by honesty, I don’t mean ‘pouring out your heart’, or ‘wearing your heart on your s...

Darkness & Good: New Post

Yay! Something new for you to read on the Darkness & Good blog! Sorry about the break – July/Aug was crazy for both Liana and me, but now that the crazy is over hopefully D&G will get back into some sort of schedule – inasmuch as it was ever in one, anyway.

Tonight, poetry is on the brain, and the one that’s come out complete (as opposed to a couple of others that clearly need more incubation time!) is a poem for my two-year-old son. It’s called “What do I want you to know?”, and you can find...

FGU Outtakes: 9 Awesome World Things You Should Know About

This time, a happier post.

Most of you should be aware by now that I have been busily beavering away on FGU, or From The Ground Up as it’s more properly know. If not, you’re either new, or have been tuning me out with remarkable efficacy :P In the first instance, HI WELCOME NICE TO MEET YOU!! And in the second, it’s safe to come out again now: THE BOOK IS DONE.

Oh my gosh, the book is DONE. SO. MUCH. RELIEF. Mostly from my editor, who, when I blew my second deadline, was I’m pretty sure determi...

I’ll Never Have Enough Arms To Hold Them All

Today – and I’m sorry to lump this on you – but today is one of those days where the sadness of reality is weighing me down. I’m sitting at my desk at work trying very hard not to cry just in case someone comes in, but the truth is that I just want to sit under my desk with a box of tissues and sob for a while. Not because I’m depressed, not because anything terrible has happened to me, but just because – as Christine Fonseca aptly puts it – I am drowning in existential sadness. This week, it...