Top 7 of 2010: #1 Engaging descriptions reader's won't just skim

As 2010 draws to a close, so does my countdown of top blogposts of the year. The post below original appeared in April. I was pleasantly surprised that Mr. Maass himself stopped...

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Top 7 of 2010: #2 Writing compelling characters

The new year will soon be upon us, so I'm doing a little year-end retrospective on my top blogposts of 2010. Today's post appeared in September and was composed for Elena's blog...

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Top 7 of 2010: #3 Where have all the adults gone?

Welcome back to the final week of my countdown of top blog posts of 2010. This one appeared in January and generated some great discussion. I'd love for my new readers to chime...

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Top 7 of 2010: #4 Love at First Sight

It's Christmas Eve, so my countdown of top 2010 blogposts brings you a gift--some romance. This was originally posted on Valentine's day for the "Love at First Sight" blogfest...

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Top 7 of 2010: #5 Poet secrets

On we go with my countdown of the most popular posts of 2010 here at Laurel's Leaves. Today's repost originally appeared in April, National Poetry Month.= = = = = =I've been hesitant...

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Top 7 of 2010: #6 Antagonists of Many Flavors

Welcome to my countdown of my most popular posts of 2010. The entry reposted below originally appeared in March.= = = = =We hear again and again that without conflict, you have...

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Top 7 of 2010: #7 Motion and emotion

I have just seven more scheduled posts till year's end, so I thought it would be fun (and frankly more sane for me) to repost my seven most popular blogposts of 2010, minus the...

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Trope versus cliché

My Tuesday post, "No Mary Sues: operating at maximum capacity," was intended to get you all thinking about ways to keep your characters perpetually striving towards goals, or...

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No Mary Sues: operating at maximum capacity

In How to Write a D@mn Good Novel, James N. Frey says many plots lack integrity because the author doesn't have her characters acting at their maximum capacity.What does he mean...

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Friday fun day

My hubby and I have been geeking out big time on the latest season of Dr. Who, which at last became available on Netflix in November.How badly are we geeking out? Check out the...

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Let's talk numbers

Dear Editor-on-Call,My critique group always argues about how you should write time. 5 o'clock or 5:00 pm? And do you have to write out numbers, as in five thousand, or can you...

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A new approach to drafting: reel it

One of my CPs is a big advocate of experimentation to get through blocks when you're drafting. She says to keep trying things until something works. On its face, this idea sounded...

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Feature Friday

So many of my lovely blog pals keep a nice, consistent schedule. I haven't yet found one that works 100% for me, but I'm leaning towards T, Th, F. My Tuesday, Thursday posts would...

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Plot stuck? Rewind

When you hit a place where you just can't move your story forward, it's frustrating in the extreme. It's not like you have nothing to say, but rather that the next plot action...

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It's a wrap

Today is the last day of November and as I look back over the past 30 days, I'm SO glad I skipped NaNoWriMo in favor of NaBalWriMo (national balanced writers month).I had a number...

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Whoa

You might read my blog title in a Kenau Reeves way or as a reins-tugging command to Nelly. This post is a little of both.HP 7.1I went to a morning showing of Harry Potter and...

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Spinning new yarns: fanfic and fan art

Harry Potter week is drawing to a close and we all know how hard it is to say goodbye. So I'll leave you in the vast forest of story and image being created by those who also...

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Magical fashion

It's day four of Harry Potter week, and today my compadres are all getting geared up for the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1. Go check them out...

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Quidditch, anyone?

It's day three of Harry Potter week, and I'm teaming up with five fabulous women to celebrate all things Harry. Swing on by the blogs below for more Pottermania!Jen DaikerLisa...

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Ravenclaw heaven

My brainy Ravenclaw friends, you'll be pleased to know that muggles in academia are giving Rowling's fictional world very serious study.LiteratureThe first professorial types...

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Harry Potter week! Wrock on!

The interwebs are all abuzz about this week's release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows film. Many other bloggers are writing Potter posts on topics big and small. Here...

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Puppy love

Ten years ago today, my hubby and I brought home our first pet, a handsome gold and white Husky/Australian shepherd mix I'd found through the local SPCA's website. When we first...

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Use it or lose it

One of my goals this month (that I've dubbed NaBalWriMo) is to seek freedom from the things that are bogging me down--burnout, creative low-ebb, disorganization and mess.Spend...

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Balancing the blech

I can't be the only one whose weekends are often full of chores, chores, a tiny bit of fun, and more chores. There ought to be a way to get out from under the weekly press of...

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Writing wish fulfillment

It's the first Friday of a new month, and that means ART, baby! Philadelphia's art galleries in Olde City hold their monthly First Friday event, with new shows opening, later...

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Win Amazon gift cards!

The Alliterative Allomorph Jessica Bell, everyone's favorite Aussie ex-pat, is having a big, shiny giveaway of amazon.com gift cards. This one's open to international entries--good...

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Experiments and surprises

Getting out from under a work deadline has been incredibly freeing. And so has committing myself to NaBalWriMo, my experiment in "filling up" in a period of burnout.I got in a...

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NaNo alternative: NaBalWriMo, more creativity, less guilt

For some of us, November isn't the month to become drafting warriors. Perhaps you're in the midst of querying and have a draft underway, or have been revising a while and need...

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It's on! NaBalWriMo

Many of you are on board with a NaNoWriMo alternative in which we DON'T push ourselves to the brink of insanity drafting 50K words in a month (kudos to those who do--there's a...

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NaNo-No: Because this ain't the month to disappear

The interwebs are all abuzz with the approach of November, which for many will mean NaNoWriMo: an intense 30 days of drafting something completely new, very fast, with built-in...

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