Here are the social media links that take you to Savvy Authors to sign up for my month long workshop. If you’ve been considering taking my class now is the time.
This is the only one scheduled this year. I hope you’ll join me as we go through the essentials of characterization and plotting. These two areas of writing are vital for the creation of fiction writing.
Details for The Essentials of Characterization and Plotting with Tambra Nicole Kendall
Register by June 20th and save $5, use code ESSENTIALSKENDALL2022 at checkout! Category
Characters
Description/Setting
Dialogue
Structure
GMC
Plotting
Worldbuilding
$5 off Early Registration Coupon-expires 1 week before class starts ESSENTIALSKENDALL2022 Class Length 4 Weeks
This workshop material is for beginning and intermediate writers, but all are welcome!
Having a good foundation in fiction writing skills is vital. Our goal is to keep readers turning the pages and buying more of our books. Join me as we learn and discuss the techniques of characterization and plot and their relationship. Ready to get started? Here are a few of the lesson topics:
Brainstorming: various ways to brainstorm your ideas
Backstory, using plot sketches, show, don’t tell
Creating three-dimensional characters
World building, and more!
This workshop also includes a mini course on writing hot. Class Format
Savvy Authors’ workshops are held on a forum: a bulletin board based system. You will receive a reminder notice one day prior to the start of the workshop that includes instructions on how to access the workshop forum. If you have not received instructions by the day the workshop begins, please check your spam filter. The forum will be available the morning (EST) of the day the workshop starts and will remain accessible to all participants thereafter.
I’m thrilled to be able to teach again and share my material with you. My website has testimonials from former students if you’re interested in seeing how the course helped them. Join me and we can learn from each other!
Hugs to all, Tambra Nicole
Photo by Hannah Grace, Unsplash website. Writing motivation.
I’m so excited to announce my workshop The Essentials of Characterization and Plotting that will begin at the end of June for Savvy Authors. As soon as I get a link for you to sign up I’ll post it.
This workshop material is for beginning and intermediate writers, but all are welcome!
Having a good foundation in fiction writing skills is vital. Our goal is to keep readers turning the pages and buying more of our books. Join me as we learn and discuss the techniques of characterization and plot and their relationship. Ready to get started? Here are a few of the lesson topics:
Brainstorming: various ways to brainstorm your ideas
Backstory, using plot sketches, show, don’t tell
Creating three-dimensional characters
World building, and more!
This workshop also includes a mini course on writing hot.
I hope you’ll join me for this workshop on characterization and plotting plus all the other fun aspects of writing!
In the past hubby and I have tried to make it to a Transiberian Orchestra concert during the Christmas holiday. It would have been lovely to attend this year but with Covid not under control, I don’t want to take any unnecessary risks. They put on such a wonderful show. You feel energized and happy when you leave.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHioIlbnS_A
I hope the link works so you can hear the Transiberian Orchestra if you haven’t before. I grateful we’ve had the opportunity to attend their concerts in the past. Ten years ago that wouldn’t have been possible. There are so many blessings. Food, shelter, a nice little town where I can walk Smudge and not worry about my safety.
I have a good team of doctors helping me live life as best I can with the chronic conditions I have. The coming new year will find me focused on getting back into doing Zumba Express and some Bollywood Dance to lose some weight and strengthen my muscles and stamina. There are a number writing projects I’d love to finish and share with you. One of my goals is to figure out how to focus better. Recently, I had someone confirm that my creative energy in art and craft feeds my writing energy. This reminder came at the perfect time.
I’m grateful for the people who read my blog and Smudge’s Doggy Bloggy. We thank you for your comments and for staying with us. The act of being grateful changes your whole focus. Jack Canfield is one of the people I listen to on the topic.
A few days ago, I watched my favourite Christmas movie, White Christmas the song, Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep explains gratitude perfectly and simply. Here are the lyrics if you don’t know them.
When I’m worried and I can’t sleep I count my blessings instead of sheep And I fall asleep counting my blessings When my bankroll is getting small I think of when I had none at all And I fall asleep counting my blessings. I think about a nursery and I picture curly heads And one by one I count them as they slumber in their beds If you’re worried and you can’t sleep Just count your blessings instead of sheep And you’ll fall asleep counting your blessingsI think about a nursery and I picture curly heads And one by one I count them as they slumber in their beds If you’re worried and you can’t sleep Just count your blessings instead of sheep And you’ll fall asleep counting your blessings
Here’s no frills NaNoWriMo calendar. After you print it out you can add stickers or washi tape. 🙂 I think there’s enough space for you to write your word count beneath the word count number to keep you on track. I hope you find inspiration from the forums, meeting writers from all over the world, and being inspired to write the story of your heart. NaNo is supposed to be fun, not a drudge. Should you persevere at the end you’ll have a draft of a manuscript, a big portion of editing, forward progress on whatever you’re writing.
NaNo is all about getting the story down. Editing comes later.
Smudge Alpin MacRuff wants to help writers with NaNo so here’s his POV on what happens when you undertake the month of November’s literary abandon.
Think about what you want to write. Be sure you like it enough to write on the story everyday.After you join NaNoWriMo get some writing friends to join you. Friends always make everything more fun!Stay focused. Don’t quit! Quick, word sprints!Why aren’t you cooperating story? I give you the evil eye. I do not like you anymore.You see these shreds manuscript…that’s what will happen to you if you mess with me again.Swift kick in the writing pants. I can do this because I’m the Boss!You did it! Do something nice for yourself. All that hard work was worth it.
Always wanted to be a writer? Here’s a course that will help.
The Essentials of Characterization and Plotting Instructor: Tambra Nicole Kendall Registration Deadline:October 10, 2021 Start Date:October 6, 2021 End Date:November 1, 2021Class Fee in USD:$15 for HHRW members / $25 for non-membersGoogleiCalendarREGISTER NOW
In this course, we will discuss how to plot, what keeps it moving, and how storytellers drag readers into a fictional world and keep them there. We’ll learn point of view, story structure, pacing, world building, how to connect the beginning, middle and end, and more.
Tamara is a friend and a very capable teacher who has written since forever. She has mastered the skills of engaging writing, which is evident on every page of her books. I highly recommend this author and her course.
Sarah Fitzpatrick, pianist extraordinaire, gave up on true love when her high school boyfriend, Nick Stephens, ran off to marry his pregnant ex-girlfriend.
Nick’s daughter shows up in her music class eleven years later. One look at the man, and old dreams come back to life. She must find a way to keep the little girl and Nick out of her heart. She won’t risk losing everything again.
Nick Stephens has other plans. Sarah is, and always has been, the love of his life and he’s back in Burton, TX to prove it. But there are secrets Nick must keep, from Sarah and his daughter. Secrets that could destroy everything he hopes to build. Can their second chance survive new secrets?
Stefanie London has some wonderful books for you to choose from and some recent titles to be released soon. Here’s her website: https://stefanie-london.com/
This is a reblog from my friend, Rae’s blog. She and I share a number of interests including a love for the writing of Madeleine L’Engle. I hope you enjoy her blog post as much as I did!
Just as Saturday mornings on TV in the 50s and 60s was dedicated to kids, Saturday mornings on this blog are dedicated to them.Book 1 of the Wallace Family Series finds Meg a gawky twelve year old and Charles Wallace a 6 year old prodigy.Book two finds Charles Wallace about Meg’s age in the previous book.Book three finds Meg married (to Calvin) and expecting their first child and Charles Wallace a teenager.
For years, I thought this was it, The Wallace Family trilogy. I read A Wrinkle in Time to my sixth graders every year during the 80s as I discovered it with them. Later, I read A Wind in the Door and reread it recently. I do not think I ever read A Swiftly Tilting Planet until now, as I began my Madeline L’Engle “project”–to read as much by and about her as I could. The…
When I began writing I started out with articles and studying children’s literature. Gaining a bit of confidence, I submitted one of my articles to a local writing group’s contest. It was the first time I’d entered my writing in a contest before and I was nervous.
I won third place! One of judges contacted me about publishing my article in his magazine. He was active in Toastmasters International and he had a dynamic presence. A few years later I joined Toastmasters International and it gave me the confidence to speak to an audience about writing and teaching. What does this have to do with writing short stories, you’re asking. Well, writing a speech uses the same skills. You need to be focused, making every word count, have a beginning, middle and end, leading to a satisfying conclusion.
On my bookshelves I have several writing craft books by Jack M. Bickham, a former Creative Writing Professor at the University of Oklahoma. Mr. Bickham was a protégé of the late Dwight Swain.
Much of the information in Bickhams books still apply today. Years ago, I had the honour of meeting him. He was a gracious and gentle man. If there had been a way for me to take his university courses I would have jumped at the chance. Jack Bickham wrote over eighty novels, and three books for Writer’s Digest Books. Mr. Bickham also wrote The Apple Dumpling Gang which was made into a movie in the 1970s-early 1980s, I think.
Study the masters of short story writing. What story situations do they tackle? How do they create characters you relate to?
Here’s what I’ve learned writing short stories and information from Mr. Bickham. I hope this will give you a place to start. Learning to write short can be a fun challenge.
Tambra’s Short Story Tips
Write out what you know about the characters and the story you want to tell. Go through it and edit out the parts that don’t push the story forward. In short stories you usually find two to three characters because you don’t have the room for more.
Remember this is a short story. Traditional short story word lengths run from 1,500 (six pages) to 5,000 words (roughly 20 double spaced pages.)
Six pages is going to call for some concentrated, concise writing. Twenty pages still means you need a narrow focus and must making every word count. Some people find writing short easier than writing long. This will take some practice but don’t forget to have fun. I believe writing should be fun and exciting.
When writing a novel, you have the luxury of delving deeper into the GMC (goal, motivation, and conflict) of your main characters and villain, a complex plot with room for a bit of backstory. Flashbacks and backstory slow the pace of your story which is why they must be trickled in. If you’re unfamiliar with GMC I highly recommend Debra Dixon’s book, GMC. I can’t tell you how much it helped me. From her I learned to love plotting.
Drop your character into trouble as soon as you can. But make sure the situation can be resolved in a satisfying manner in allotted number of pages you have available. Rushing the ending will make the reader feel cheated and dissatisfied.
Remember you don’t have time for long passages of backstory so a few sentences to let the reader know. Example: Gina and Dee Dee met at college and Gina invites Dee Dee over for supper and a study session.
Gina opened the door holding her new puppy. “Come on in!”
Dee Dee white knuckle gripped her tote bag and licked her lips. “Can’t. Dog.” Her brain and body were frozen.
Gina frowned and walked back. “A bad experience with dogs?”
Dee Dee nodded.
“She’s asleep. Can you hear her snoring?”
Dee Dee stepped inside and closed the door. “A neighbor’s Chow Chow jumped the fence and bit me.I was three years old. I’ve been scared of dogs no matter the size since then.” She swallowed. “I have wanted to pet a puppy. It would nice to at least be able to do that.”
Gina sat on the sofa and Dee Dee followed. “If you want you try softly petting her with your index finger on her head.”
Slowly Dee Dee reached out and stroked the Westie’s head. Her fur was so soft! The knots in her chest and stomach loosened making it easier to breathe. She did it. She actually pet a dog.
In the example I didn’t do a long flashback on Dee Dee’s situation that led to her getting bit. The readers need to care about the characters. Everyone has been scared, so we understand how hard this must have been for Dee Dee.
Your plot will probably be on specific event that can be handled within the limits of the genre. Give just enough information about the setting so the reader isn’t confused.
The other elements of fiction writing apply. Adding in the senses, enough description so the reader is transported and can visualize it. Check the flow and pace of your story.
Every word, every sentence counts. Readers emotions, their hearts, must be pulled in and engaged in the story you are telling. Writing short will serve you well if you write longer pieces of fiction. Writing short it forces you to write tighter and more concise. You’ll find yourself getting to the heart of a scene much quicker.
I’ve never regretted started out writing short pieces of fiction and nonfiction.
I hope this post helps you understand the basics of writing short stories. It’s really fun! I hope you give it a try. You might like it.
Open book with magic sparkles coming out of the pages
Writing is an intense, personal experience. To create characters we draw on people we know or have known in the past, relatives, experiences from our youth and those more recent.
Sometimes I deliberately choose a mannerism or attitude from someone in my past in character creation. Other times, the process is subtle. People watching (before COVID) was interesting and fun. I’d listen to the conversation and take notes on how the people acted with each other physically, verbally, and non verbally. All is fodder for characterization and a major component of making story magic. Once a character begins to come alive it sparkles with energy! In your mind’s eye they are becoming more than a cardboard character on the page.
If you’re starting out on your writing journey, please understand that you can’t create a character that is exactly like someone you know. Hard feelings and more trouble than you’d care to have is the result. Instead, you create a character that is a blend of good and not-so-good traits. No one is perfect and readers can’t relate to perfection. Some notable characters that are easily recognised are Sherlock Holmes, Poirot, the Mad Scientist, the lone cowboy/drifter.
As a writer we can use these characters but put our own spin on them. If we don’t write what we love it will appear within the pages of our stories. The reader is cheated and as the creator, we are also cheating ourselves. Explore other genres and study the characters within the pages. What is it about them that catches your attention?
Three dimensional characters touch our hearts. The Harry Potter series, The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy, and Louise Rennison’s The Confessions of Georgia Nicholson are just a few characters who’ve taken teens (and adults) on adventures reaching beloved status through the years.
I’m always striving to hone my skills as a writer. I want to give the reader the best story I can. I want my story magic to shine. Years from now, I want readers to say, “I loved Tambra’s characters. I reread her books because it’s like visiting old friends.”
Let me know if you would be interested in a short series on writing topics such as characterization, plotting, or world building.
Y’all know that I love dogs and this story has terrier pups. It also has a heroine who is dealing with a recent diagnosis of fibromyalgia. She doesn’t let it stop her, though. No one is perfect. We all deal with something. I think it’s all in your attitude and I try to create characters that are three dimensional and relatable to readers.
Christmas of Hope book cover
Still working on the Rafflecopter giveaway. Should be up in the next few days. Is anyone listening to Christmas music yet? One of our local radio stations started this month playing it and I’ve been listening. When I cook Thanksgiving dinner I’ll do my annual listening to Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite and maybe some Trans-Siberian Orchestra, who put on an amazing show.
Tambra Nicole Kendall 