Story Planning: Three Ways to Get Started

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Story Planning: Three Ways to Get Started

A few years ago I wrote a series of 12 blog posts about story planning. They were quite detailed and seemed to get a lot of views on Pinterest, so I ended up combining them into what I called “The Ultimate Guide to Planning a Novel.” I had written the posts over 12 days with each day focusing on a different step in the story planning process.

These days, I tend to want to plan my novels a little quicker than 12 days, so I thought I’d write a follow-up post and share some of the strategies I use now.

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How to Write a Novel Using Your Intuition

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How to Write a Novel Using Your Intuition

I just finished reading The INFJ Writer: Cracking the Creative Genius of the World’s Rarest Type by Lauren Sapala, and not only was I blown away by how much it felt like she was writing about me, but the book really got me thinking about how my intuition comes into play when I’m writing.

You’ve probably heard that there are two types of writers: plotters and pantsers. If you just thought, yeah, I’ve heard this before, I’m out of here—wait! This isn’t going to be your typical plotters versus pantsers post. I believe things aren’t that black and white when it comes to writing a novel and the writer’s intuition plays a big role in the creation of their novel.

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Read More to Write Better: 3 Types of Books Every Thriller Author Should Read

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Read More to Write Better: 3 Types of Books Every Thriller Author Should Read

Did you know April is Drop Everything and Read (D.E.A.R.) month? Me neither! I’ve recently started reading every morning before I do anything else. I was tired of getting smacked in the face by my book as I fell asleep reading before going to be at night. Please tell me I’m not alone on this!

It turns out that reading every morning for about an hour is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I’m amazed at how much I’ve read and learned. I’ve heard many successful authors say that if you want to be a good writer, you need to be a good reader, and I feel like all the extra reading I’ve been doing has really helped me be more critical of my own writing. Well, I’m always critical of myself, but this is a much healthier version.

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12 Days of Planning Your Novel: What Will You Write?

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12 Days of Planning Your Novel: What Will You Write?

Welcome to Day 1 of Planning Your Novel. I thought it would be fun to do a series based on one of my favourite Christmas songs: The 12 Days of Christmas.

Now, the 12 days of Christmas are actually December 25 - January 5, but I wanted to release all 12 parts of this series before Christmas so that if you are following along with me, you’ll be all set to write during the actual 12 days of Christmas, a time when many people have some time off. Of course, you can work through this series anytime you want. I understand the holidays can be a very busy time!


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