Help! I Don’t Know Where To Start: Ten Ways to Prepare for NaNoWriMo

And today we have another post published on Kingdom Pen! Since it’s now a week into October and November (aka, NaNoWriMo!) is only three weeks away, many of us are starting to think about our NaNo novels. But what if you have no idea where to start?

It’s October and the air of every writerly community is buzzing with anticipation. Why? Because National Novel Writing Month (also known as, NaNoWriMo) is coming, beginning November 1st.

But what is NaNoWriMo? Well, NaNoWriMo’s website describes the history of the program as follows:

“National Novel Writing Month began in 1999 as a daunting but straightforward challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel during the thirty days of November.

Now, each year on November 1, hundreds of thousands of people around the world begin to write, determined to end the month with 50,000 words of a brand-new novel. You may know this mass creative explosion by the name National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo…”

Essentially, that’s all there is to it. A massive writing community comes together and attempts to write 50,000 words and/or an entire novel in one month, during November.

I know among the community here on Kingdom Pen, we have a diverse array of writers. Some of us have been doing NaNoWriMo for years, racking up an impressive streak. Others have never done it before, but are keen to give it a go. And some people have never heard of it before today.

However, October is known to the NaNoWriMo community as “Preptober”, where writers who are planning on taking part in NaNoWriMo start their preparations for their month-long challenge. So today, we’ll be looking at ten ways to prepare yourself (and your novel) for NaNoWriMo.

 Obviously, there’ll be tips in this guide that will appeal to you and some that won’t, so don’t feel pressured to take them all on board. Also, this guide works for anyone keen on trying NaNoWriMo out, and it’s not aimed at any group in particular. I hope the beginners, intermediates, and veterans alike can find something that works for you.

Read the rest here…

Help! I Don’t Know Where to Start: Ten Ways to Prepare for NaNoWriMo

5 Technical Errors Writers Make In Fight Scenes

My exciting news for the day is that I’ve had my first article published on Kingdom Pen! This has been a dream of mine for years and I’m so excited to share it with you.

5 Technical Errors Writers Make in Fight Scenes

We’ve all been there. We’re immersed in a fantastic action sequence, our hearts pounding with adrenaline. We fear for our favorite characters’ lives and then—

Something happens. We notice the author mentioning something we know is inaccurate. The description of a wound, or something about the anatomy of a sword. The result is that we are jolted out of the trance we’ve been in and the fight scene suddenly doesn’t seem so appealing. 

No reader wants to experience this. The author appears slack for not doing their research and the reader feels betrayed. But how do we as aspiring authors make sure we keep errors and inaccuracies out of our writing? And why does it matter?

It matters because as Christian authors we have promised to uphold a standard. We’ve dedicated our writing to God and we have a duty to do the best we can in everything. Of course, nothing is going to be 100% error-free, as we are fallible humans, but taking the time to research and edit shows we are passionate about our craft. 

No one expects you to be a black belt in five different martial arts before you write fight scenes. However, there are several common errors writers make in their fight scenes, and today we’ll be looking at five of them.

So grab your favorite search engine, a handbook of weaponry, and a mug of hot chocolate, and let’s get started.

Read the rest here

5 Technical Errors Writers Make in Fight Scenes