How I Know I’m Gonna Win NaNoWriMo!

I set myself up with nine strategies to get me to the end of November with a NaNoWriMo win. (A “win” is writing a 50,000 word novel in a month.) These strategies are working so well I’m going to use as many as I can on my next writing project. I wrote down and broadcast … Continue reading How I Know I’m Gonna Win NaNoWriMo! →

First Sentences

Jess Walter wrote and rewrote the first sentence of Beautiful Ruins “at least 500 times.”(1) It took Lance Marcum twelve hours to write the first sentence of The Cottonmouth Club.(2) First sentences are that important. In order to study what makes a good opening, I dug up some popular horror novels, some I haven't read … Continue reading First Sentences →