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National Novel Writing Month Kick-off Next Week
Writers get excited about National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) like kids get excited about gifts at the holidays. It’s fun, it’s fulfilling, and it can be frenetic. Why? Because you’re trying to write a novel during the month of November. That’s 30 days, people. And if you can’t finish it, you can at least make some progress toward it. Novels such as The Night Circus and Water for Elephants were started during NaNoWriMo, so if that doesn’t motivate you to begin that work you’ve been thinking about for a while, nothing will. In conjunction with the Stevenson University Library and the communication club on campus, 47 House, I’ll be kicking…
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Friday Fiction : I Hate You (a flash fiction story)
On Fridays we write. Answering a prompt is a good way to stay in touch with your writing, storytelling, and creativity. In this flash fiction piece, the goal was to “write a story with the word ‘hate’ in it.” Simple parameter. I write a lot about relationships, mostly happy ones, and sometimes ones that are on their way back from devastation. This is one of those. Here’s what I came up with for this week’s FICTION FRIDAY. *** I HATE YOU | Flash Fiction There was nothing left to say. The words hung in the night air as the sound of the sea pounced against the rocks. The breeze caught…
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I Decided To Have A Go At It
Last summer, I wrote a short story called Life With Nan. You can find this story in my recent publication The Postcard and Other Short Stories & Poetry. What’s happened to me after writing that story is interesting. Just as Contelli’s Mimosa, a short story I wrote in college, became a full novel entitled Beneath the Mimosa Tree, so has Life With Nan started to become a novel. I fell in love with Nan and the main character of the story so much, that it prompted me to write a longer story, and so I think I’ll have a go at it. That’s right. I’m using British lingo there. The…
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Gearing Up for #Frocktober and #NaNoWriMo
October = #Frocktober November = #NaNoWriMo As this will be the third year Steph’s Scribe has participated in #Frocktober, and the second year we’re partnering with the Stevenson University Library to present #NaNoWriMo, we’ve got a lot of planning and work ahead of us. There are outfits to pick out and novels to work on. But isn’t that what makes life fun? Having projects to immerse ourselves into each year? Fall is absolutely my favorite season…and these two months are exciting. My husband and I married on November 1 in a barn in the fall season. Despite that the weather was much like it is today in Maryland – drizzly…
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Please, Do Not Call Yourself A Writer, Unless…
I’m a writer. I can say that now. I’ve written four fiction books and one academic textbook with my colleagues. It annoys me when people say they are writers when they are not. Have you written something today? Then you are a writer. Did you write something yesterday? Then you are a writer. You can’t call yourself a writer unless you actually engage in the craft of writing. To my students: you are writers. You are writing. I am excited to read your articles. To my fellow writers on Instagram and Twitter: you are writers. Many of my followers and those I follow are writing. We are all working hard…
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A Short Story From A Writing Prompt
I’m feeling a little creative today and am in the mood to tackle something new and different. I searched for a prompt on Pinterest, and this is the one that struck my fancy. So, the way I see it, I will start my story with these words and see where it takes me. 500 words is my goal. Let’s see what happens…(I love this part of creativity…wherever will the story go?) * “This is my life now. I have climbed this hill, and now I will die upon it.” “Shut up,” I said. “We’ve only been hiking for twenty minutes.” I can talk to my grandmother like this because we…
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What I’ve Been Up To
*** It’s Monday, November 20, and I’m not as far along with National Novel Writing Month (#nanowrimo) as I would like to be. I’ve hit over 12,000 words, but if one is trying to finish a novel in four weeks, one has to do better than that. But there’s been a slight problem. Father time has keep me busy in other areas. Because it’s been so busy and I have not been fulfilling my obligations very well as a promoter of #nanowrimo, I believe I owe you the reasons behind why I have not held up my end of the bargain. Let me present you with my Three Main…
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Prompt & Podcast – Day 3 #nanowrimo
Happy Friday afternoon! I hope you are doing well AND doing well with your writing. As it’s Friday and the weekend is ahead of us, maybe finding some time to write won’t be as challenging for us as it is during the week. Today’s PODCAST is about THEMES. I share with you some thoughts about themes and what I think about with regard to novel writing and my readers. I hope you’ll have a listen and let me know your thoughts. Steph’s Scribe Talking About Themes *** As for today’s PROMPTS, they are below. Have a good weekend, and keep writing. TODAY’S PROMPTS #nanowrimo | 400-500 words | Steph’s…
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My First Podcast – Inspiring You To Write
on Steph’s Scribe Hi, you guys! I am very excited to share with you my very first PODCAST! With some advice from some of my super-techno-savvy students who broadcast their own podcasts, I decided that creating a podcast was something I wanted to incorporate into my blogging life. In light of the kick-off of National Novel Writing Month and to celebrate National Author’s Day, I’m sharing my very first, 5-minute podcast with you. Let’s embrace writing…and let’s get excited about it…together. Steph’s Scribe FIRST PODCAST Getting You Motivated and Ready to Write
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Kicking Off National Novel Writing Month with an Exercise for You
W e l c o m e ! If you haven’t stopped by and visited my blog before, I’m so glad to see you here. I’m a professor, author, and blogger, and I have a passion for all things writing. Today is exciting, because on my campus, the Library and I have teamed up to launch National Novel Writing Month, with a kick-off today at 2 p.m. in the School of Business Library. We’ll be getting you ready to write at our event entitled STEVENSON WRITE NOW. I’ve written three novels that I’ve self-published, mostly because I like to have a hand in every aspect of the process. I publish…
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The End of #Frocktober and The Beginning of Something New
As today is Halloween and also the last day of October, it marks the end of the month of #FROCKTOBER, which I’ve been participating in on Instagram at stephverni. In order to highlight and bring awareness to OVARIAN CANCER, I posted one outfit each day for the month of October. While I’m sort of relieved it’s over, I always finish what I’ve started, and I hope I’ve raised awareness of this type of cancer, which my colleague and friend, Chris Noya, is battling. It’s never to late to contribute: visit Cancer.org (American Cancer Society) or ovarian.org (National Ovarian Cancer Coalition) to donate and help change lives. Here are the last…
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Curl Up With A Good Book, Or Write One
* * * It’s National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), and we writers are hard at work as we attempt to make our way through our projects. It’s not easy, and for those of us with full-time jobs, kids, husbands and families, and friends who love and need our time, slotting in those hours can be challenging. So here’s the idea: Those of you who are readers, curl up with a good book. Those of you who are writers, get to work. You mustn’t stop writing and creating. As Toni Morrison said, “If there’s a book you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, go write it.” The computer…
