Emilie Richards's Blog, page 54
November 28, 2017
Plotting Your Novel: Heading Toward the Finish Line
With the exception of Thanksgiving week, I’ve spent November explaining how I plot my novels.
I’ve really enjoyed creating these posts, especially when I’ve been privileged to read your ideas and incorporate them. Remember, this was a “practice” novel, inspired by a comment I overheard at breakfast one morning, and we’ve come a long way toward the finish line.
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November 25, 2017
November 22, 2017
Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen
Happy Thanksgiving!I’m taking a break from my mini-series on how I write a novel, to wish you a wonderful holiday–if you’re in the U.S.–and if you’re not, to wish you a wonderful autumn day filled with good food and good friends.
I thought for fun I’d let O. Henry (William Sydney Porter) write my blog today, with Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen, a short story which I discovered on americanliterature.com.
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November 18, 2017
Sunday Inspiration: Be Kind
“Be kind whenever possible. It’s always possible.” – Dalai Lama
Do you think that being kind to others is something special, something that we save up for? I get caught in that trap sometimes, forgetting that kindness is possible every minute of every day if we simply remember and pay attention–as well as swallow our first, less-than-kind responses.
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November 14, 2017
Plotting: Scenes and Revelations
Welcome to round three of “How Emilie Plots Her Novels.”Note that I didn’t simplify that first sentence and call this series “How To Plot A Novel?” Remember, we’re exploring my way. If someone tells you their way is the right way? I’d take that with a block of salt. Some writers have no idea where a book is going until it gets there.
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November 11, 2017
Sunday Inspiration: Thriving With Passion
“The best part of life is not just surviving, but thriving with passion and compassion and humor and style and generosity and kindness.” -Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou has a way of going right to the heart of things, doesn’t she?
This is one of our biggest challenges, isn’t it? To live fully and joyfully instead of skimming through our brief days on the surface of existence.
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November 7, 2017
Plotting Continues: No, You’re Not Halfway There
Last week we began a story, or rather I began it with a snatch of conversation overheard at breakfast.Have you been listening for interesting bits of conversation ever since? Have you begun noticing anything that’s odd in your everyday interactions? Has a little voice whispered in your ear, “that would make a good novel?”
Have you asked yourself the writer’s most reliable plotting question: “What if?”
Fiction writers don’t look for real life situations they can cut and paste into a novel.
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November 4, 2017
Sunday Inspiration: Living Together
“Civility is the sum of the many sacrifices we are called to make for the sake of living together.” Stephen L. Carter
Did you know this coming Tuesday is election day?
OK, it’s a tiny election day when almost no one is running for anything, but let’s think of it as good practice for the next BIG election.
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October 31, 2017
Plotting a Novel: And Your Book Started Where?
Plotting a novel? I’m about to reveal a novelist’s biggest secret. Come closer. . . promise you won’t tell?Everybody does it differently.
That’s right. As much fun as it would be to tell you my way is the only way, I’d be taking my life in my hands at my next writer’s conference.
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October 28, 2017
Sunday Inspiration: Fear limits you
“I’ve learned that fear limits you and your vision. It serves as blinders to what may be just a few steps down the road for you. The journey is valuable, but believing in your talents, your abilities, and your self-worth can empower you to walk down an even brighter path. Transforming fear into freedom – how great is that?” -Soledad O’Brien
Happy Halloween!
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