Tag Archives: novel
Rough Draft: the Good, the Fair, and the Ugly
After reading through and making notes to the rough draft of my novel, I scored each chapter on how well I believed it flowed and how much work was still needed. Right now, I’m on chapter 6 (Fair) and I really like how this tiny bit of information has helped me as I approach each …
Keeping a Novel Diary
I think keeping a diary as you write a novel can be a really good thing for your next book. I’m working on my rough draft and struggling a bit right now. I started wondering today, is this how I always feel when I’m writing a rough draft? And then I remembered, I took notes …
Book 1 vs. Book 2: The Tortoise and the Hare
When my idea for my contemporary romance punched me in the face, I was actually in the middle of working on another rough draft. I figured I could work on both books, and did for a while, until the romance demanded all of my attention. Since this book wasn’t planned, like NaNoWriMo books usually are: …
My Characters Are Not Me
“Listen to what I said here,” I said to my husband and then read a sentence from my work-in-progress. After I had finished reading, I said, “Well, I didn’t say it, my character did.” Don said, “Wait. You wrote it. So doesn’t that mean that’s what you said?” “No, not really. My characters are not …
The Second Draft is Country Music
I don’t like writing rough drafts. I’m not really sure why. I think it might be all the frustration. Facing the blank page is intimating, no matter how many times I’ve been there. I know that frustration is unavoidable, and even necessary, if you want unique characters and plot. But that is all behind me …
No NaNoWriMo this time
Since I’m in the middle of writing a novel right now, I’m not going to be writing a draft for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). And even if I didn’t have a work-in-progress, I don’t think I’d write another book the NaNo way. I participated in my first Nanowrimo back in 2007 — The Princes of Tangleforest. …
Dorlana Vann - Author 