The Daily Port of Call: November 7, 2014

Photo by Alexander Lvov/bigstockphoto.com

During the month of NaNoWriMo, the Captains of Writership will be participating in this great sprint to write a novel in thirty days. In lieu of the news and recent posts we usually share in the Daily Port of Call, we’ll be passing along links to some of our favorite articles and resources on a variety of topics. In our year-long, online writing program, we follow the steps of the writing journey from idea to publication. We’ll mirror that structure here, spending a week exploring each of Writership’s Anchors: Dreamtime, Writing the First Draft, Revision, and Publishing and Marketing.

In today’s Daily Port of Call, we’ll look at putting your best foot forward. Adopting good habits during Dreamtime sets you up for success when you start your draft.

One author describes how he writes around his day job.

Explore writing productivity: Here are fifteen tips to help you crank out good plots.

Learn what to do when your writing routine goes poof.

Learn how to rekindle enthusiasm for your work in progress.

Find out what a writing partner can do for you.

Check out these lessons learned from writing a first novel.

Discover this “bowl of kale and spinach” lessons and habits that are essential for success.

Can exercise make you a better writer?

The Daily Port of Call: November 6, 2014

Photo by Alexander Lvov/bigstockphoto.com

During the month of NaNoWriMo, the Captains of Writership will be participating in this great sprint to write a novel in thirty days. In lieu of the news and recent posts we usually share in the Daily Port of Call, we’ll be passing along links to some of our favorite articles and resources on a variety of topics. In our year-long, online writing program, we follow the steps of the writing journey from idea to publication. We’ll mirror that structure here, spending a week exploring each of Writership’s Anchors: Dreamtime, Writing the First Draft, Revision, and Publishing and Marketing.

In today’s Daily Port of Call, we’ll look at different ways to get to know your characters and bring them to life.

What’s in a name? Here are tips for naming your characters.

Check out these five tips for creating a character your audience will really care about.

Find out how to collect characters through everyday adventures.

How can you figure out what your character’s arc should be?

Build your character’s arc by starting with the end. (It’s okay if the ending is pretty vague.)

Here are fifteen questions you should ask your characters.

Regardless of what type of characters you’re dealing with--those who show themselves easily or those that take time to develop--you can always get to know them better. Find out how you can get to know your mushrooms, onions, and nuts.

If you want to understand your characters better, know these 3 goals for each of them.