Hey! I tried 17Hats when it was first out and loved it. Then my life got beyond complicated – I’m sure you all know what I mean. So, now I’m back to 17Hats. It’s even better than it was, and I’m including a referral link so you can check it out. Seriously, you can also go there directly, but either way, do the trial. The part I like is the Workflow. It’s like I can finally delegate something and have it get done. I’m looking forward to a smoother 2018!
17Hats
Write that Sci-Fi Novel in 2018
Register Now
Early Bird Discounted Rate: SFW Sci-Fi Novel Basics Six-Week Workshop
$185.00
You know you want to write that sci-fi novel. The one that’s been knocking around inside your head forever. All you need is a boost and a shove.
Take the plunge with the SFW Sci-Fi Novel Basics Six-Week Workshop.
Starts Jan 8th. Materials posted on Mondays by 3pm. Assignments due Fridays by 10pm. Communication during the week.
In six-weeks, we’ll look to classic and modern works for discussion of:
Openings
Worlds
Characters
Technology
Themes
Trends
There will be online-lectures available on your schedule, as well as the opportunity to post and discuss your questions.
Each week there will be an assignment that goes with the discussion. You’ll receive feedback on your work. You can also submit 2,500 words for review and comment.
The books we use will include classics by Asimov and Bradbury, as well as the latest Nebula Award winners.
Register Now
Early Bird Discounted Rate: SFW Sci-Fi Novel Basics Six-Week Workshop
$185.00
Series: Writing Nonfiction
I’m beginning a series of posts that will cover writing nonfiction, narrative nonfiction, and long form narrative; finding a topic; uncovering the story in your notes; the craft of nonfiction; and topics related to writing nonfiction.
The posts will be based upon my study and experience in this exciting – yes, exciting! – area of writing. It will also be based upon the feedback and questions I’ve received from my students in the workshops I teach at The Writer’s Center, as well as in the writing classes and webinars I offer online.
I’ll make the post titles descriptive, as well as the tags, so you’ll be able to tell and find the posts that interest you. If you have any questions, or comments, or just want to weigh in, please use this form. Thanks! ~Gina
Narrative Craft – The Way In
Narrative Nonfiction is a terrific way to combine true events with the facts that expand and explicate those events. As long as you accurately relate the facts, you are free to use them in a narrative. That sounds easy enough, but the truth is that you will often have a pile of — facts. How those facts are going to make a story anyone wants to read, let along a story faced on the truth, is not necessarily clear.
You could know precisely what you want to say and how you want to say it before you begin your research/reporting. In my experience, that generally ends in a stiff piece because you need to get the interviewees and facts to line up with what you want to say. It may be that you want to say something you can’t support.
You could just start interviewing everyone you can think of and see where it leads. That sort of fishing expedition often leaves you going back for a second round of interviews – actually two additional rounds, since you were overly generally in the first interview; every specific in the second; and now need some sense of this person, which you’ll gain through the third.
You could start by writing what you already know in an informal sort of list meant for your eyes only. You could then list the things you know you don’t know, along with why you think they might be important. You could also read whatever you can find as background material before selecting your interview candidates. You could then do a far-reaching and thorough interview that will hold up in 99% of circumstances.
The latter is the one I strive for, yet even with that, I wind up with a ton of research and branches I hadn’t anticipated – which is a good thing. Because of this, I pick a topic and then keep an open mind about the “way in.” Continue reading
Narrative Nonfiction – What is it?
Narrative Nonfiction is a type of nonfiction in which narrative techniques are used to tell a story with the facts. This type of nonfiction differs from a straight report or news story because it does more than relay the facts; it creates the full context around those facts by using facts.
Sounds like a lot of facts. In fact, it may even sound deadly boring. It’s anything but. Continue reading
Writing Needs
It would help me to know what sort of writing info interest you. Can you answer these three questions?
WriteStrong!
In my roles as a writing coach, editor, and tutor, I get a LOT of questions about grammar. Many of the questioners can recite a rule from childhood – the problem is, the rule didn’t make sense then and it doesn’t make sense now.
I also get a LOT of questions about how to plan a piece of writing, research it, organize it, and start to write it. For me, those mysteries are no longer mysteries. I actually have actionable advice that leads to results.
The WriteStrong! program is on the SavvyFreelanceWriter Facebook page. It is a place to find answers to those questions. You’ll also find videos, classes, and materials to use to answer your questions and get you writing over the coming months.
Links to my Fiverr gigs – for coaching and writing a book proposal – will be there, too. (When I figure out how to get that to work!)
Meanwhile. Got questions? Ask away!
~gina
Writing Nonfiction – Starting
So how do you start? Do you sit down and start writing or do you do some planning? How much planning? What type of planning?
It seems that writing nonfiction should be easy. It’s based on facts. What’s the problem? This happened and then this happened and then this happened. You just need to tell it like it was. Except it’s never that easy because there is always so much that happened.
There are several ways to get started, so this time we’ll talk about the Timeline Approach: Continue reading
Writing Coach
Finally! I’m finally up on The Writer’s Center Resources Writing Coach page. I’m very excited about this. I taught a couple of Intro to Narrative Nonfiction courses and plan to teach more. I’m also planning to offer an online course on Narrative Nonfiction through this blog. All in all, I’d say everything is falling into place.