Links to Writing & Marketing Blog Posts

I hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving Weekend.

I started the morning with a 10K in Cincinnati. It was 22 degrees at race time, and I doubted my sanity, but it was a beautiful day. I dressed in layers and stayed warm. 

That was my last race of the year. After a marathon, half-marathon, two 5Ks, and one 10K in eight weeks, my body is welcoming a rest. So, I'm hunkering down to get the first draft of The Sapphire Brooch finished before Christmas. 

I didn't reach the NaNo goal of 50K words. I ended short at 30,000, but that's a good start on this Civil War drama. I'm trying to write this draft based on research I've already done, but that's hard to do when a question pops up. I tried inserting RESEARCH into the spot, but that didn't work so well because I wouldn't remember what I wanted to include. I quickly switched to track changes and inserted comments instead. Having a map for this story is making all the difference. Here are my points of interest: 

1. First, understand the concept 
2. Then develop that into a premise
3. Figure out the theme
4. Understand the goals, motivations, conflict of the protagonist
5. Move on to the first plot point
6. Then spin the story into a new direction 
7. Plug in the pinch point 
8. And you soon arrive at the mid-point 
9. Plop in the second plot point 
10. And voila! You reach THE END! 

Now, nothing about that is easy and each bullet point has multiple sub-points. I lost a week of NaNo writing because I didn't have this worked out in advance. Next year I will!

Happy writing, running & shopping, Kathy

~*~

If you missed my writing & marketing tweets and retweets yesterday, here they are again:

1. The Evolution of a Scene: From Outline to First Draft - Helping Writers Become Authors http://ow.ly/rkb2y
2. The One True Path to Writing Success? — Aliventures http://ow.ly/rkb3D
3. Marketing Ideas: LinkedIn, Your List, New Social Media, and More! » Book Promotion . com http://ow.ly/rkb4e
4. 12 Thanksgiving Blogging Tips For Staying In Top Shape: Is Your Blog Overstuffed? - Heidi Cohen http://ow.ly/rkb4Y
5. Tips For Marketing Your Novel On Amazon | C H Griffin http://ow.ly/rkb6g
6. Three Ways to Use Thoughts to Create Unforgettable Characters | Ninie Hammon http://ow.ly/rkb7e
7. Do You Read Self-Published Books Differently? Yes, You Do! | Catherine, Caffeinated http://ow.ly/rkb8g
8. Linda Clare's Writer's Tips: Your Novel's Timeline http://ow.ly/rkban
9. RT @KathyLLogan: Disillusioned with Facebook: Here’s a Way Forward : @problogger http://ow.ly/rjjAK
10. Blogging, and Twitter, and Readers…Oh My! : @ProBlogger http://ow.ly/rkbds
11. The Other Side of the Story: Where Do I Go From Here? Plotting Through “What Happens Next?” Part One http://ow.ly/rkaYT
12. ▶ How to Create Custom Social Share Buttons for Your Site - YouTube http://ow.ly/rkbMO
13. Why is Genre Important to Success? | The Passive Voice | http://ow.ly/rkbSi
14. How to write better headlines http://ow.ly/rkbVf 10 surprisingly simple tips for writing better headlines
15. 5 Ways To Shorten Your Short Stories - Writer's Relief, Inc. http://ow.ly/rkc2h
16. Are You Missing Your Best Fiction Marketing Opportunity? | storyrally http://ow.ly/rkc4p
17. Authors, Stop Selling Books! Start Selling Stories | Molly Greene: Writer http://ow.ly/rkd2C
18. My Top 5 Blogging Blunders You Can Avoid : @ProBlogger http://ow.ly/rkbfe
19. Social Media Drove Just 1% of Black Friday Online Sales http://ow.ly/rkbh1

Happy writing & running, Kathy