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Monday, November 6, 2017

Go Teen Writers Live: Series, cliches, and creating fantastic creatures

Stephanie here! Over the weekend I taught at the Johnson County Library Writers Conference, which was a fantastic event. And free! If you live in the Kansas City area, you should definitely watch for it next fall.

Today I have the privilege of sharing Go Teen Writers Live Episode 6:


You have to at least watch the first 15 seconds when Shannon causes me to lose my focus. We're not very polished in our videos, but we do have lots of fun.

The questions we answer are about how to plot a series, how to avoid cliches in your writing, and how to create creatures for your stories that are cool and serve a purpose.

If you've missed old episodes, you can click on that tab up top that says, "Go Teen Writers LIVE" or subscribe to our YouTube channel. (You also get to see the videos early that way!)

How's NaNoWriMo going, for those of you who are participating?

9 comments:

  1. ^Oh, good, it's not just me. But also, not good! It's not showing up, Stephanie...

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  2. Its on the youtube channel though. I didn't have time to watch it this morning, but its there, if that helps. :D It was recorded a month or so ago.

    @Faith: Nope, not just you. :)

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  3. That's because someone forgot to put the video in the post... :) Man, I wish I had an assistant who I could blame! Sorry, guys. Thanks for letting me know!

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  4. Its no big deal. I just wasn't sure if you were aware. Have an awesome day. :D

    ~Ivie
    iviewrites.blogspot.com

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  5. Thank you, ladies, for all that great information! I have experience with the first two situations, but not the third. For the cliches, I started my sci-fi with the idea that the main character would return to his homeland in the second half of the book and free his fellow cyborgs. That plot didn't really live up to the conflicts I had placed in the story, though. After reading Replication by Jill (which was a thrilling read, by the way), I realized that the plots were too similar, especially since the genre and location were the same. That prompted me to come up with an idea I was really excited about, and it turned my single book into a trilogy!
    I've never written a fantasy (though I'm participating in the hobbit exercises), so I haven't come up with many mythical creatures. I've invented machines for my sci-fi, though, and I think some of the same precautions apply.

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    Replies
    1. How insightful of you, Olivia! Yes, I agree. The temptation to make cool technology just for the sake of cool technology is definitely there. Great point!

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  6. Thank you all so much for answering my question!!!!!!!!! Your advice was all really helpful. I've made colour-coded notes from what you've said!

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