Free Online Writing/Editing Class for Writers

Every now and then I discover online classes that I like to share with others. Recently I have learned of a workshop designed for writers by a woman well known in the writing community for both her writing and editing skills. This free class is a hands-on workshop exploring how an outline can help in the edit phase whether you are already an outliner or write in a purely organic style.

The particular workshop I am referring to is being facilitated by Margaret Fiske. Margaret writes in numerous genres such as literary fiction, science fiction, fantasy, romance and children's stories. She is currently a moderator at the Forward Motion community and feature editor of the award winning ezine Vision, providing articles for experienced and novice writers. Margaret is also copy editor for Double Dragon's Publishing's imprint, Dragon Tooth Fantasy.

In this free online workshop Margaret will share the numerous tools she has developed to assist her in writing and editing. Anyone who is interested is welcome. To take the course you must join Forward Motion, but membership is free. That is to protect first electronic publication rights as the class will be sharing portions of their work to get feedback and help. It's a wonderful opportunity and I hope to see many of you there.

Join using the "Join" link:
http://www.fmwriters.com/

Happy writing and I hope to hear your thoughts on the class.

NaNoWri Challenge: Day 2

Well, it is the second day of the annual NaNoWritMo insanity. This is my first attempt at the challenge -- to write a 50,000 word (or more if you like) novel in 30 days.

In order to accomplish this my handy dandy calculator tells me my target is 1,667 words a day. So far, I have written 3,602 so I am slightly above my target word count. I actually want to write a bit extra each day to allow for the unexpected...yeah, I know, I'm really compulsive that way, what can I say?

I hope to step it up a bit, but I am also still finishing some research for the novel. This is a big difference for me, I usually write in the YA fantasy adventure genre and haven't run into areas where I need much research. I am double challenging myself, though, not only to get myself into better focused writing habits, but also to step outside of my comfort zone into a different genre. I am trying my hand at a mystery/suspense novel. This is where I run into the research aspect, trying to keep things within the scope of reality. So far, I think it is going fairly well, and I'm actually having fun!

Keep your fingers crossed for me and wish me luck, please! I'm off to try to research a bit more.

Happy writing!

NaNoWri Challenge

What the heck is NaNoWri? November is National Novel Writer’s Month. The NaNoWri challenge is for all writers, published or not, to endeavor to write a novel of 50,000 words in a month’s period of time. Participants begin writing November 1 with a goal: to write 50,000 words, the equivalent of a 175 page novel, by midnight, November 30.

Because of the time constraints, this methodology is different than standard approaches to writing a novel. This tactic of writing is to get a simple stream of consciousness, continual flow of writing, and put your story to paper ~ the editing can come after the end of the month. It is a program that challenges anyone who has ever wanted to write a novel but shies away at the thought of the work and time involved. By writing under these time restrictions, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes, you are putting quantity over quality, but, at the end of the month, you will have put the story to paper. This breaks down the novel in a way that it is approachable.

Last year there were over 79,000 participants. Of these, 13,000 of them crossed the imposed deadline with the targeted 50,000 words. This year there are in excess of 90,000 participants. You may enter the challenge as a student, a bus driver, a secretary or teacher; perhaps you come from the retail industry or construction ~ it makes no difference ~ you walk away as a novelist. If you don’t finish by November 30, the NaNo police will not slap you around with a wet noodle or take your work in progress away, I promise you…but, you now have a work in progress. It’s an amazing feeling of accomplishment. Take up the personal challenge ~ you know there’s a novel in you somewhere ~ let it out. Join me at NaNo! Just a thought! :-)