Inspiring Things Like Skeletons and Experiments

     Two other bloggers have recently posted things that I have found inspiring. One was a post by Rachel Heffington called Skeletons, Blog Design, and a British Holiday . The other was a post by Anne-girl called An Experiment .
     The Skeleton post was inspiring because it talked about building on your first draft. Sometimes I cringe part-way through a project as I realize that it is nowhere near publishing quality. But Rachel points out that this is okay -- no one writes a story that is perfect on the first draft. Instead we should view our first draft as a sort of skeleton to then build the story on.
     This was also an encouragement to start building more into Dungeon, which has been sitting rather idly this week.
     The experiment post was about writing separate storylines for each of your main characters and then putting them together at the end. I have really been thinking about doing this for BB, as I have multiple strands swirling in my head. So it was neat to see that someone else is trying it, and that is an encouragment to go ahead and try it myself. We will see how it goes.
     By the way, BB currently has almost 19k words. I am pleased with its progress...even if it is just a skeleton. :)

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A Short Story Break

via Pinterest It has been a while since I penned a short story. Usually it takes something like a "short story contest" to inspire me. But I have noticed my writing skills improve with each contest so there is something to be said for writing short stories. I say all this to lead into the fact that I am going to try another short story. There is no contest looming on the horizon, but it has been so long that I think I am due to write a short piece. Life cannot be entirely devoted to novel-length plots... I am rolling around different ideas in my head. There is no one to give me the first three words or a picture to base my story on. There are no restrictions, no props, and no judges. Methinks I will try something that is both epic and ordinary...something I have seen before. After all, personal experience, great things, and the expression of the...

More Snippets from Snow White Rose Red

One of the shadows moved. “Were you just going to chuck it in there with no thought for the poor folks on the other side?” Flip’s voice drawled out. It was a deep voice and it made my heart skip a beat. He moved away from the trees and came to stand in front of me. “Some hard-working fellow is plowing his field and then – whop! Out of nowhere, a poisoned apple flies out and hits him upside the head.” He clucked his tongue reproachfully.

The Countdown: Eight Days

Eight days. Do you know what that means? Barely over a week. Tomorrow will be one week from the announcement date. Are you excited? I am. So, today, I want to talk to those who wrote something for the contest, whether or not you entered it in the end. What made you start writing your story? What was the first inkling of an idea that tickled your brain? What was it that you liked about your premise? As you wrote, did you have a favorite character or a favorite scene? And are you glad you wrote it down? Do you feel like you learned and grew in your ability as a writer as you tried out things for this contest? And, if your story isn't included in this year's Rooglewood anthology (either because you didn't submit it or because it didn't fit with the other four stories selected), what will you do with it? Will you market it elsewhere? Or will you lock it away in a drawer?

The Pen of a Ready Writer

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