What to Consider When Writing a Novel - Writing Journal

So you want to write a novel? Good! Great for you! But be warned, before you start on this long and hard journey, here are some things you should consider:

1. Do you have enough content to complete a novel? A regular Young Adult novel has at the bare minimum 60,000 words. Nothing is wrong if you end up below that benchmark, but if you’re aiming for a novel, you should strive for that word count. If you come up short, you can always expand on some things you only skimmed on the surface of before. If you go way over, no worries, you can always take things out in the editing process.

A Writing a Novel vs. a Play - A Writing Journal

Taking a step away from the monster task that my novel was, I decided to take on a new project. I'd had this idea for a play for a little while and I couldn't get it out of my head. Adjusting from novel writing to play writing was a very interesting process. There are more than few things I'll take out of that experience.

The Pros of Keeping a Writing Journal - A Writing Journal

What exactly is a writing journal? Simply put, a writing journal is a journal or notebook that you write in. Whether it be responses to writing prompts, random bits of stories, or interesting dialogue you overheard, they are all recorded in a writing journal. As long as the journal content is writing related, it can be considered a writing journal.

Every writer should consider keeping a writing journal because they are helpful and benefit your writing overall.

Three Tips to Sticking With Your Novel - A Writing Journal

Ideas: writers have endless amounts of them. They pop up from thin air and beg to be written. They consume our minds and let us think of little else until we put pen to paper and finally let the words flow out. But by then, a dozen other ideas have captured our minds, and the first idea lays forgotten in a drawer.

This is a dilemma many of us face: how to stick with your ideas and actually finish your novels instead of deserting them a few chapters in.

Essay Writing - A Writing Journal

Essay. Your English teacher says the word aloud and the whole class cringes. Despite my writing background, even I don't jump out of my seat after this announcement. Essays are tricky but they're an essential part of both writing and reading. Today I will tell you some things to put on your checklist before printing that torturous assignment.

Why You Should Mix It Up - A Writing Journal

Most writers want to improve their writing in then hopes of getting published. We sit at our computers, writing and rewriting... and rewriting. We get feedback from readers, we read endless amounts of writing blogs and advice posts, all to improve our craft.

What most of us tend to do is stick to a specific genre and style, and only write in that way. Practice makes perfect, right?

Maybe not. Maybe only writing fantasy stories, or only writing in first person won’t makes us improve. Sometimes, doing something completely new will help us more.

Salvaging An Old Novel Draft - A Writing Journal

After a year of abandonment, I finally read through my 2011 Camp NaNoWriMo novel.  It was my first attempt at writing anything for more than a couple days and the only things I planned out were the character names, and the title of the novel, Wonder.  Wonder began as a twist on Alice in Wonderland (which I had never read). However it soon grew to a 30,000 word story about a girl called Alice, a new Earth, a guy disappointing in the art world, a dystopian future, and a somewhat autobiographical description of my old house. Absolutely none of which connected or flowed together.

The Re-Release of "At Second Glance" - A Writing Journal

The first time I put up At Second Glance on Wattpad I had no idea what I was doing. I didn't know how the site worked, I didn't know how to construct a story, characters, or a plot. I was basically just throwing it out there for feedback and for others to see. Later, I soon realized the story needed major editing, including major plot changes and revising (and in some cases, deleting). I was soon faced with a decision: edit the book and leave the old version up for the sake of the Wattpad readers, or remove the current version, edit the book, and re-upload it later. Now that the new version is almost fully uploaded, I figure it'd be a good time to look back on the consequences of that choice.

Reading To Kill A Mockingbird - A Writing Journal

When my English class headed off to the library to check out To Kill A Mockingbird, I wasn't sure whether to smile or frown; my face remained neutral. This book has such an impressive reputation. Millions love it. Everyone's read it. It is, as Mrs. M says, the right of passage through the American education system. It is the beloved favorite of Oprah, my English teachers, and my mom. My older brother even likes it and he isn't much of a reader. I'd thought of reading it on my own before the school year since, let's be honest, reading something for school does take a bit of the fun out of it. But alas, I'd had other books to read and less time than I'd thought. 

First or Third Person? - A Writing Journal

When starting a new novel or even a short story you have many decisions to make. Which tense should you use, which perspective should you be in? Today we're going to discuss the decision of which perspective to write from for your story; which "person" to be in. There are many pros and cons to both which makes it hard to choose which one is appropriate for your story.

No One Creates Solely - A Writing Journal

It's so stereotypical for an artist to say, "no, you can't see it" or "no, it's private" when asked about viewing their work. But... why? For those of you writing out there, I'm sure it seems very obvious.  However, from the perspective of someone who doesn't create in the traditional artistic sense, it's hard to comprehend.

Editing Through - A Writing Journal

The story idea for At Second Glance came in a flickering second. However, the first draft took me several years to craft (since I had no idea what I was doing when I first started writing). Once I finished that draft, the editing process started. I'm still editing this novel, quite some time later.

What Acting Has Taught Me About Writing - A Writing Journal

As some of you may have noticed, over the last several months I've been very busy. This is mostly due to the fact that I was a supporting actress in my school's play, "Flowers For Algernon". This experience was wonderful and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Besides making amazing friends and stretching my acting skills, it also taught me a lot about story telling. Though the medium is different and it lends itself to different things than novel writing does, there's a lot more in common than you'd think.

The Battle of the Essay (Part 2) - A Writing Journal

Last week I shared with all of you the beginning of my essay writing tale (which you can read here). As promised, here is the second half and concluding part of the story. In this second installment of "The Battle of the Essay", I learn even more valuable lessons and am brought back down to earth.

The Battle of the Essay (Part 1) - A Writing Journal

Today I retell the lovely adventure of my most recent English essay. The only essay that I've ever been satisfied with, I might add. In this essay I learned many valuable lessons, lessons I believe will help others.

If you want to hear more about my writing background, or are easily frustrated by essays, read on!

The Pros and Cons of GRAD Writing - A Writing Journal

In this post, I will explore both the good and the bad of the Graduation-Required Assessments for Diploma (or GRAD writing test). The aforementioned test is a test that I will be taking at the end of this year. Please note that this will mostly be focusing on the test in my area, and that there may be variations depending on what your district/state is.

An Obvious Secret - A Writing Journal

Hello all! (17/09/2012)

After three weeks of school and getting into the groove of things, I have finally had time and inspiration to write to you guys for the first time (as a writing journal) ! It's been a while since I've worked on my book or even looked at it, for that matter. Although I'd like to say that I write every day and I'm making great progress, the fact is that I wasn't.