Tag Archives: drafting

A Hiatus, or did I just quit?

Posted on January 25, 2016 by melindamcguirewrites

A break – that’s what I called it. Things had gone on a different path than I anticipated. I was selling books, but I was focusing on the need for agents and publicists and book signings and talking with people about … Continue reading →

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So yeah … about that NaNoWriMo thing

Posted on November 19, 2012 by melindamcguirewrites

Well… It’s not looking good for NaNo. I won’t say impossible (only because I never say that word), but things were off to a non-existent start for such as huge part of November that I thought I wouldn’t get anything … Continue reading →

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NaNoWriMo – Have I Lost my Mojo?

Posted on October 30, 2012 by melindamcguirewrites

NaNo starts November 1. I completed (I won!) NaNo last November. If you aren’t familiar with NaNo, “winning” means that I completed 50k words in the month of November of 2011. That manuscript later became Nelson and Cora: The Beginning. … Continue reading →

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3 Lies Writers Tell Ourselves

Posted on July 20, 2012 by melindamcguirewrites

Liar, Liar, pants on fire! 3 Lies Writers Tell Themselves 1. I don’t care what anyone thinks of my writing If this were true, you would never, ever share your work. It would stay locked up in a drawer somewhere, hidden … Continue reading →

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Overcome by a Pantster Attack

Posted on June 13, 2012 by melindamcguirewrites

My Pantster Tendencies Won — this round Day 13 of JuNoWriMo/ CampNaNoWriMo (50k words in 30 days), and my innner Pantster won. I tried three different stories – all three I planned out, mapped, strategized, created character arcs, character profiles, … Continue reading →

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I Cannot Serve Three Masters

Posted on June 6, 2012 by melindamcguirewrites

And, by “masters” I mean stories Most of you know that I am participating in JuNoWriMo and CampNaNoWriMo this year – yes, that means I am writing two different stories during the month of June. Along came this third story, … Continue reading →

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I’m suffering a Pantster attack

Posted on May 26, 2012 by melindamcguirewrites

Pantster Tendencies Attack photo credit: tochis via photo pin cc June 1st, 2012 – JuNoWriMo kicks off. I’ve been planning to do this for a few months now. By planning, I mean brainstorming, outlining, thinking about character motivation, story arc, setting, key plot points. … Continue reading →

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What’s a Beat Sheet and Should You Use One?

Posted on May 12, 2012 by melindamcguirewrites

Well, let me back up first. What’s a beat in fiction? It’s a unit of a story (not necessarily a chapter. Could be a single scene or could extend over several scenes). A Beat Sheet, then, is a way to … Continue reading →

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Mayhem in May

Posted on May 9, 2012 by melindamcguirewrites

Summer Begins… With An Interview I had the pleasure of appearing on Rhonda Dennis’s blog – Green Bayou Novels – to discuss Josephine: Red Dirt and Whiskey. An excerpt from our interview: For such a naive and simple person, Josephine’s character … Continue reading →

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Some Issues with World Building

Posted on May 8, 2012 by melindamcguirewrites

To see a World in a Grain of Sand and Heaven in a Wild Flower                                                                          —– William Blake World Building The term came into use initially for Science Fiction, but it is crucial to Historical Fiction, Steampunk, Westerns, any fiction that requires the reader … Continue reading →

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