tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post4803989607765305532..comments2024-01-12T00:48:48.031-06:00Comments on Go Teen Writers: Best Writing Advice of 2011Stephanie Morrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13128389560727867719noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-40108107404156364282012-01-07T01:51:02.963-06:002012-01-07T01:51:02.963-06:00My goal for this year I think is too finish a coup...My goal for this year I think is too finish a couple of books, and work on my plotting and writing work overall. :) And be more dedicated to it and actually get some work done which I have yet to do!<br /><br />(Yikes! Already 6 days into 2012!)Jazmine~https://www.blogger.com/profile/06246960020080246030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-35424874627371753602012-01-03T16:36:03.276-06:002012-01-03T16:36:03.276-06:00Oh, Morgan, that totally cracked me up. Yes - tack...Oh, Morgan, that totally cracked me up. Yes - tackle that guy. And put duck tape on his mouth. Preferably that cute colored duck tape they've been showing on TV.Stephanie Morrillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13128389560727867719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-8975702594455904912012-01-03T12:41:59.645-06:002012-01-03T12:41:59.645-06:00This year I've learned not to go so hard on my...This year I've learned not to go so hard on myslef. My interior editor Philianthrium gives me free advice (XD get it philanthropist, Philianthrium?! No, ok whatever)But is VERY VERY VERY mean to me! He always tells me I'm a horrible author and that I need to edit edit edit. I've managed to only freak out at him and tackle him a few times :) But friends are always nice to me when Philianthrium is being evil :/<br />My goal for next/this year is to experiment in different genres since I've been stuck in my fantasy/adventure box my whole life.Morgan S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08640928838649253676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-76507322502832587872012-01-03T09:34:59.424-06:002012-01-03T09:34:59.424-06:00Stephanie, I checked them out and I love how it se...Stephanie, I checked them out and I love how it seemed to make the story go together easily...i'm usually figuring out characters when they pop up in the story, if that makes sense,<br />I think writing the first novel is the hardest. I've written other plot-less things...<br />but I'm excited :DTessanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-2206634662420892462012-01-02T21:20:55.673-06:002012-01-02T21:20:55.673-06:00Rachelle, Griselda? I love it.
I think it's ...Rachelle, Griselda? I love it. <br /><br />I think it's really important to try new techniques (to try outlining, to try using notecards for scenes, whatever.) Every story is different, you know?<br /><br />And isn't Connor's hat AWESOME? Totally made his Christmas outfit.<br /><br />I will be emailing you my official review of the first two books :) Not far enough into the third yet.Stephanie Morrillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13128389560727867719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-68247501803285252582012-01-02T21:18:24.889-06:002012-01-02T21:18:24.889-06:00Emii, you're so sweet :) On Writing is one of ...Emii, you're so sweet :) On Writing is one of the first writing books I ever read. And Bird by Bird (in which I think the language is even worse, if you can believe it.) But both are excellent books that I still love to reread.<br /><br />And sometimes I still forget that my characters need goals. It makes that whole plot thing soooo much easier to conquer, though.Stephanie Morrillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13128389560727867719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-35522690203595647332012-01-02T21:16:30.876-06:002012-01-02T21:16:30.876-06:00Tessa, have you tried breaking up the work? I have...Tessa, have you tried breaking up the work? I have a tendency to want to make everything perfect all at once, but I've learned to break up the process a bit, to focus on the big stuff first before working on the details.<br /><br />I talked about it when we were doing the Steps for Writing a Novel series (there's a tabby thing up at the top). There are several posts about the editing process, but this was the first one: http://goteenwriters.blogspot.com/2011/06/time-for-forest.htmlStephanie Morrillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13128389560727867719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-47770740544928290862012-01-02T21:12:17.780-06:002012-01-02T21:12:17.780-06:00Jessica, I was shocked when I saw how much charact...Jessica, I was shocked when I saw how much character journals helped me. I've found that most of the time when I'm stuck, it's because I haven't taken the time to get to know my secondary characters. And character journals are about the only character building activity that can hold my interest. I used to make myself fill out those interview form things ... I always got bored about halfway through :)<br /><br />Tonya, letting go of that desire to write perfectly is a tough one. And I experience the same thing during my second drafts - I'm often surprised by little gems or bits of character development. But, unfortunately, there are some real stinkers in there too :) And if you go to ACFW, I might see you there!Stephanie Morrillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13128389560727867719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-53401481976035041432012-01-02T19:32:55.543-06:002012-01-02T19:32:55.543-06:00Oh, my goodness! I love those pictures of your swe...Oh, my goodness! I love those pictures of your sweetlings. That hat... *swoon*<br /><br />And I'm DYING to know what you thought of The River of Time? Did you find the water great or what? (No, the word "devouring" was not enough of a review!) :) :) :)<br /><br />Congratulations on that beautiful girl! Evangelina... :) My laptop's name is Griselda. I like to think of her as a fairy godmother and that sounded like a fairy godmother's name. :)<br /><br />Okay, this year I've learned that I can write with an outline AND without it. In other words, I wrote one with and one without. I'm not sure if I'll keep up with that or not, but, hey, it worked this year and I so loved every minute of it! :) Two books in one year! Yahoo! With both, though, I had five super-short Acts that kept me in sight of my goal of The End.<br /><br />Clare, that's my goal, too. Research. :)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06150136011032761640noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-48129138798150061322012-01-02T18:53:55.413-06:002012-01-02T18:53:55.413-06:00One of the things I learnt last year which I'm...One of the things I learnt last year which I'm taking into this year would be to make sure that my character always has a problem to solve. <br /><br />Goal's... a polished version of the book I'm working on, that would be beautiful. But there's only one way that's gonna happen, and that would be to... get offline!;)<br /><br />I read On Writing, by Stephen King. But one thing I've come to realize is that everything's already over here -- you bring everything together, Steph, with a whole lot of other perspective's and it's amazing!emiihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02042164350910286833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-87564116067546224942012-01-02T17:57:49.953-06:002012-01-02T17:57:49.953-06:00to answer your question Stephanie, it's that I...to answer your question Stephanie, it's that I like editing, but when I'm working on the first draft, I can't STOP editing...I always think of ways that it could be better, and other stuff like that...which usually leads to me deleting the documentTessanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-79583696839175990212012-01-02T17:20:36.729-06:002012-01-02T17:20:36.729-06:00The biggest thing I learned this year is the impor...The biggest thing I learned this year is the importance of writing a yucky first draft.I'm a little late to that party. I've always wanted my first to be perfect and it'd make me obssess. Learning to let to, i get more written.<br /> Then when I edit I'm always surprised what came out. Sometimes it's surprising like "wow! This is good. Who knew I wrote it?!" and a lot of of times it's like "this stinks" <br /><br />My goal this year is to finsih mt first full length MS,learn as much as I can, and hopefully go to my first conference! Oh and stop being so over-critical of my writing, that's a big issueTonyahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14500897912581589616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-2200260433715833572012-01-02T16:29:29.817-06:002012-01-02T16:29:29.817-06:00The biggest thing I learned...well, I learned a lo...The biggest thing I learned...well, I learned a lot, so that's a tough one. #1 is probably that I am indeed capable of finishing a novel. (I did NaNoWrMo.) #2 would likely be the usefulness of character journals. (A very recent discovery!) I never realized how important it is to know my characters. It helps to answer a lot of important questions I have about my own stories.<br /><br />My main goal is to complete, revise and edit another novel, as well as complete a bunch of short stories that have been jumbling around in my head. I'd also like to rewrite/edit my NaNo Novel. :)Jessica Starickahttp://ready-to-start.deviantart.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-56786515790443188322012-01-02T15:22:16.789-06:002012-01-02T15:22:16.789-06:00Imogen, prioritizing your writing and being consis...Imogen, prioritizing your writing and being consistent can make a HUGE difference in a writing career. Great goals.Stephanie Morrillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13128389560727867719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-24680301203285721482012-01-02T15:16:15.876-06:002012-01-02T15:16:15.876-06:00The biggest thing I learnt this year is that I wan...The biggest thing I learnt this year is that I want to write. Doing NaNoWriMo for the first time, I realised that I really do love to write. Which leads onto my goal for this year. I want to write consistently, finishing things more often, and continue learning the craft. The biggest thing for me would be to work out which genre I want to write in. Then I could really start to work.<br /><br />In more defined goals, I want to start editing and revising my two NaNoWriMo novels from last year (gosh that feel weird to write). I want to finish my current project and edit and revise that too. And I want to start at least one other project.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05746017057593508370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-88324011855820655462012-01-02T15:08:37.787-06:002012-01-02T15:08:37.787-06:00Lol, Caroline, I think I have accidentally typed i...Lol, Caroline, I think I have accidentally typed in the wrong language before too! I teach both writing and Spanish with just a short break in between, which makes for interesting incidents occasionally...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-82619338159749673192012-01-02T15:03:02.001-06:002012-01-02T15:03:02.001-06:00Caroline, that advice resonates with me as well. I...Caroline, that advice resonates with me as well. It's so frustrating when I have to scrap a scene or plotline, and it can easily feel wasted. But it's a necessary part of the learning process. Thanks for sharing that!Stephanie Morrillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13128389560727867719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-48479624040626813662012-01-02T14:57:42.195-06:002012-01-02T14:57:42.195-06:00Haha Happy 2012! The photos are adorable and I'...Haha Happy 2012! The photos are adorable and I'm super jealous of your laptop, the best gift I got was a huge stash of J Crew sweaters and a new black skirt. <br /><br /><br /><br />What's the best piece of writing-related knowledge you gained in 2011 that you're bringing with you into the new year?<br /><br />It actually was a quote from Gayle Forman,"I've come to understand that even the misfires are all part of the process-that they've honed my craft or led me to the book I was supposed to be writing." It helped me get over an idea that was a 'misfire' and understand that it wasn't a total waste of my time, because I've gained more knowledge about writing and I have a novel I love now.<br /><br /><br />And what goal(s) have you set for yourself this year?<br /><br />To finish writing my very first 'good' manuscript by 2013, originally it was by my 14th birthday, but seeing as that's only a few months and 64K away, I've altered it a bit. MY second one is to write every single day and NOT during Spanish class (sometimes I'll find myself typing in Spanish instead of english).<br /><br /><br />What I learned in 2011...<br /><br />Oh goodness, I've learned so much about writing! Last year I discovered Go Teen Writers, character charts, plotting, not using -ly adverbs, good beginnings (that used to be the hardest part for me, but now it seems like everything else is), how to look past my ego in writing and think like a reader, literary agents, query letters, publishing, Yahoo Answers books and authors section (which I spend more time on than I'd like to admit), and how to write a novel as a teen writer! <br /><br />But trust me, there's a lot more to learn in 2012.<br /><br />:D Have a nice break everyone, I go back to school tomorrow, ugh.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-85265126166383229742012-01-02T14:06:30.120-06:002012-01-02T14:06:30.120-06:00Ohmigosh! ME TOO, Princess. My writing partner get...Ohmigosh! ME TOO, Princess. My writing partner gets very frustrated with me. I'm constantly wanting to fix something and she says, "Need I remind you this is our 29th draft?!" ...no joke.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-2342720832737029902012-01-02T14:04:30.145-06:002012-01-02T14:04:30.145-06:00I enjoy editing, but I never know when to stop. I ...I enjoy editing, but I never know when to stop. I just keep editing. <br /><br />AlysonAlyson Schrollhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10985230257033740736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-43155579227861397612012-01-02T14:01:31.800-06:002012-01-02T14:01:31.800-06:00Oh cool! I did NaNoWriMo this year for the first t...Oh cool! I did NaNoWriMo this year for the first time and it was a blast. I wish to finish that sucker too.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-64748599175586223462012-01-02T14:00:56.323-06:002012-01-02T14:00:56.323-06:00Tessa, makes me want to write instead of my curren...Tessa, makes me want to write instead of my current activity of folding laundry :)What is it about editing that trips you up? Do you just not enjoy it, do you not know where to start...?<br /><br />Carrie, excellent! Those seem like very reasonable goals.Stephanie Morrillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13128389560727867719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-86428730807216632492012-01-02T13:56:51.973-06:002012-01-02T13:56:51.973-06:00My goal this year is to finish editing (1st edit) ...My goal this year is to finish editing (1st edit) my NaNo 2010 novel by March. Hopefully after that, I can look into publishing it (after having a few other people look at it of course).Carilynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03244374169659640476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-42480267348113642852012-01-02T13:50:45.153-06:002012-01-02T13:50:45.153-06:00wow...reading through the comments of what people ...wow...reading through the comments of what people have learned/goals is inspiring!! makes me want to just sit down and pull up that half finished novel... :D<br />another goal...I have trouble with editing, maybe that's why I only get to chapter two, so I'm going to work on thatTessanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-9106307981358665912012-01-02T13:50:13.942-06:002012-01-02T13:50:13.942-06:00Chanelle, I think I relearn that lesson every year...Chanelle, I think I relearn that lesson every year :)<br /><br />Sapphire - YES. Crafting excellent secondary characters is a lost art. Good for you.<br /><br />Jordan, it's SO important to figure out what works for YOU. And you're an amazing writer. Could have told you that last January :)Stephanie Morrillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13128389560727867719noreply@blogger.com