Hello and good day my lovelies!
Well, life certainly has taken it’s toll, so I’m hoping to get back into the swing of things here shortly. I’m happy to say that I am thisclose to getting things started on my YA contemporary series. It’s been a long and arduous journey, but so worth it.
The reason that it’s taken me so long is because I’ve dedicated time to learning the “rules” of writing. I remember being on a chat session with Larissa Ione earlier this year (courtesy of my friend Tigris Eden – buy her book!), and I asked her “What advice do you have for people wanting to write?” I’m sure that best-selling authors get bombarded with this question all the time. And she was kind enough to answer me. She said “learn the rules of writing.”
“Rules?” I thought. Yes, I know all about the rules. Sentence structure, grammar, “i before e,” “show, don’t tell,” and all that jazz. But there were things that I didn’t know a lot about. Things like plot, motivation, scene and sequel. I decided to devour everything I could on the subject. I learned about character and viewpoint. I learned about the cause and effect of plot and what grips a reader. I read about setting and world building. I even went as far as learning how to market and blog. In fact, I have my nose buried in James Scott Bell’s Plot & Structure (which is fabulous – I highly recommend) right now.
But I know I can’t keep reading forever. At some point, I have to put pen to paper. And that time is coming soon.
Stephanie Scott 