One Way to Write a Novel. by Vicki Hinze

One Way to Write A Novel by Vicki Hinze is one of my downloads on my Kindle which I received a an early Christmas gift. I downloaded her book at the suggestion of another writer on a Loop I am a member of. I'm glad I followed that writer's advice.

I am definitely not going to delete her book from my Kindle because I know I'll want to refer to different sections frequently.

Some things that I found helpful on my first read were : "Common Errors to Avoid", "Should You Write the Book?", "How to Make a Story Binder", and "Making a Story Board".

Her advice is practical and easy to understand. She makes sure you understand her terminology by giving a definition and examples as needed.

I was especially impressed with the list of questions she provided at the beginning of her book that helps the reader decide if the idea the writer is considering is worth pursuing. This alone can save the author the disappointment of spending months on writing a book that will never be finished or poorly finished.

I have "sort of" worked on a binder for my story as well as a story board. After reading her book, I'm going to finish those two projects and get on with my book.

Ms. Hinze is a successful author of books and articles. I have not read her books before, but I'm going to select one to download to my Kindle. Check out One Way to Write A Novel. You'll be glad you did.

Brainstorming Weekend

Our local writers group recently had a weekend retreat at the country home of one of our members. We met for dinner in town on Friday night before convoying to her home. Once we carried all our blankets, pillows, air mattresses, and items for the weekend, we shared the bare bones of our work in progress.

The next morning after breakfast we started in with each member introducing their main character. Other members could ask questions for clarification. Several members brought copies of character questions to share.

After lunch, we took a short country walk and resumed with our one sentence log line, which we helped each other refine.

We decided that each member should go ahead and describe the plot, conflict, and elements of their stories. After stopping for supper, we worked until bedtime.

On Sunday morning, we finished helping plot the remaining members stories. We ended our time together, agreeing we all were leaving with enough ideas to finish our projects. We decided two issues: 1. We all needed to diet after all the food we'd eaten this past weekend. 2. We definitely wanted to make this an annual affair.

So, I would strongly suggest that any writer get together with at least one other writer and devote some time so brainstorming your ideas for a story. Bring things you've learned from workshops, books, and articles to help with plotting. You'll be glad you did.