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MYC: Conquering the Dreaded Blank Page (and other drafting tricks)

Welcome to this week’s Master Your Craft post! Each Wednesday we’ll discuss prewriting and drafting a new book from the BIG IDEA to QUERYING. Last week, we reviewed our treasure trove of pre-writing posts. Today we’re on to starting — and keeping going on — your first draft. You’ve finally arrived. You’ve got your coffee (or tea), your snacks, your favorite writing socks. Your writing space is … Continue reading MYC: Conquering the Dreaded Blank Page (and other drafting tricks)

Master Your Craft

Introducing Master Your Craft: A New Series by the Winged Pen

The last month has been an exciting time here at The Winged Pen as Pennies have been hard at work behind the scenes coming up with a surprise for you. Today, to coincide with Camp NaNo – the virtual writer’s retreat that helps you fit writing into your busy life – we’re excited to launch our new blog series: Master Your Craft with the Winged … Continue reading Introducing Master Your Craft: A New Series by the Winged Pen

Find Mentors after Pitch Wars?

If Pitch Wars 2017 seems too far away or too selective for you, you can always try out other mentorship programs available online. Some are free and some come with a fee. I have listed both below. But first…. What should you expect from a mentor? A mentor is a professional who is ahead of the game and understands the industry better than you. By … Continue reading Find Mentors after Pitch Wars?

Want to Make More Progress in 2017? Write Down Your Writing Goals

It’s the New Year – new calendars, new notebooks, a new start! I am a New Year junkie. I love the reminders to reflect on the previous year and lay out plans for the year to come. But as a staunch list-maker, I don’t just noodle on my goals for the year, I write them down. At the end of each year, I pull up … Continue reading Want to Make More Progress in 2017? Write Down Your Writing Goals

4 Ways Winged Pen Writers Get Words

Did you ever wonder why this is The Winged Pen? It’s because this group of writers make the words fly. How do they do it? When you face the dreaded blank page, what helps you start your writing engines? Do you have a daily word-count goal? Read the Winged Pens’ answers in our own words: Laurel Decher: I’ll go first. 🙂 I realized I aim … Continue reading 4 Ways Winged Pen Writers Get Words

Write Believable Heroes, Villains, and Emotions with The Positive/Negative Trait Thesauri and The Emotion Thesaurus

Rebecca: The Emotion Thesaurus has had its own special place on my writing desk for so long, I had to look on Goodreads to see when I’d first read it. January 1, 2014. I’ve been using it for a while. When I first started using the book, it opened my eyes to conveying emotions through actions. Well, okay, I used the easy ones all the time. … Continue reading Write Believable Heroes, Villains, and Emotions with The Positive/Negative Trait Thesauri and The Emotion Thesaurus