We all talk about plots and I think we all know what a plot is.  But how many should we have in a story?  Is the plot the main consideration when writing a story? I’ve struggled with these questions on numerous occassions.  In fact, my first few stories didn’t come from having a great plot spring into my head. The truth is, I had characters, setting and FINALLY plot developed in that order for each story.  For me, the characters define the setting and the characters and setting define the plot. Hardly rocket science, is it? But wait… what about motivation?  Hah!  Tricked you… that’s part of my character definition.  At least, it is for my primary characters.  I usually […]

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I have a problem that I suspect many first and even established writers face.  Is my work actually good enough to get a publisher interested?  I know it was fear that kept me writing (and rewriting) the infamous chapter 1 of my book.  I wanted a beginning so compelling that whoever read it would have no choice but to go on with the rest of the story. I have no doubt that there are several vanity publishers that would be happy to take my money and print my book.  Somehow (to me, at least) that’s not an indication of whether it’s good or not.  Only a “real” publisher agreeing to take the project on will do. Naturally, I want to send my best work […]

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I’ve decided to take the plunge. “What plunge?” you may ask.  “Is it marriage?  A new job?  How about adopting a puppy?” No, no and no in that order.  Heck, switch the answers around if you like. In this case, the plunge I’m talking about is Nanowrimo 2006.  What is Nanowrimo?  Simply put, it is National Novel Writing Month or to explain it another way, it is a challenge to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. Monumental task? Hell yes!  To put it into perspective (my perspective, naturally), it took me 30 months to crank out a 90,000 word fantasy novel which I am still editing. So what makes me think that I can possibly do such a crazy […]

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For you project managers out there (and you know who you are), how do you both begin and end a project?  Hmmm…  OK, since you’re shy, I’ll tell you.  You always begin and end a project with a celebration.  Why?  I think it’s because PM’s really like to drink… oh wait, that’s not it.  Actually, it’s to mark a definite beginning (and build the team synergies) and to create a definite end. Great.  So what? Well, believe it or not, your writing can be classified as a project, or better yet, as a series of projects.  Does that mean you should head out for a barley sandwich everytime you put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard)? Not quite. It does […]

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