Writing Archives - Page 4 of 4 - Aspiring Writer Academy

Why Your Characters Need Story-Worthy Goals

By Darlene Panzera | January 17, 2022 |

Have you ever been told by an agent or editor, reviewer, critique partner, or reader that your writing was blah because your main character’s goal was weak, not strong enough, that it wasn’t ‘story-worthy?’ What does ‘story-worthy’ even mean? In the post below, we will discuss what makes a goal story-worthy so that you can write engaging stories that hold your reader’s attention from beginning to end.

Have you ever been told by an agent or editor, reviewer, critique partner, or reader that your writing was blah because your main character’s goal was weak, not strong enough, that it wasn’t ‘story-worthy?’
What does ‘story-worthy’ even mean?
In the post below, we will discuss what makes a goal story-worthy so that you can write engaging stories that hold your reader’s attention from beginning to end.

3 Levels of Goal Setting for Fiction Writers

By Darlene Panzera | January 11, 2022 |

Before you sit down to write a book, set yourself up for success by getting clear on what you hope to achieve. Why do you want to be a writer? Do you have a career plan? What is the purpose for your story? Are your character’s goals strong enough to impact readers? In the post below, we show you how to set S.M.A.R.T. goals on three distinct levels: Goals for you (the author), Goals for your story, and Goals for your fictional characters.

Before you sit down to write a book, set yourself up for success by getting clear on what you hope to achieve.
Why do you want to be a writer? Do you have a career plan? What is the purpose for your story? Are your character’s goals strong enough to impact readers?
In the post below, we show you how to set S.M.A.R.T. goals on three distinct levels: Goals for you (the author), Goals for your story, and Goals for your fictional characters.

25 Quotes, Tips, and Advice from Famous Authors

By Darlene Panzera | October 20, 2021 |

25 Quotes, Tips, and Advice from Famous Authors. Are you an aspiring writer who could use some guidance from others while writing your next manuscript or attempting to finish your next big literary project? Let some of these famous authors become your mentors as they deliver their tips and advice below.

Are you an aspiring writer who could use some guidance from others while writing your next manuscript or attempting to finish your next big literary project? Let some of these famous authors become your mentors as they deliver their tips and advice below.

Fiction Writing: How to Name Your Cast of Characters

By Darlene Panzera | August 24, 2021 |

Choosing names for the characters in your fictional story can be done at random, like drawing names out of a hat, or purposely planned out to add greater depth and meaning to the tale you desire to tell. Whichever method you choose, you may want to consider using our top 5 suggestions for Fiction Writing: How to Name Your Cast of Characters to make each name recognizable, distinguished, and easy to remember for both you and your readers.

Choosing names for the characters in your fictional story can be done at random, like drawing names out of a hat, or purposely planned out to add greater depth and meaning to the tale you desire to tell.
Whichever method you choose, you may want to consider using our top 5 suggestions for Fiction Writing: How to Name Your Cast of Characters to make each name recognizable, distinguished, and easy to remember for both you and your readers.

How to Captivate Your Readers with Scene-Ending Hooks

By Darlene Panzera | July 31, 2021 |

How to Captivate Your Readers with Scene-Ending Hooks

One of the best lines of praise a writer can receive from a reader is, “Your story was so good I couldn’t put it down!” This is the kind of story that is often referred to as a ‘page-turner.’ The reader becomes so involved in the unfolding events of the story that they cannot stop reading because they do not want to miss out on what happens next. Would you like to write a story like that? If so, keep reading as we outline How to Captivate Your Readers with Scene-Ending Hooks.

Author Chats: Cara Grandle & Her Path to Publishing Fiction

By Darlene Panzera | July 30, 2021 |

Debut author, Cara Grandle, tells us what it’s like to pursue a fiction writing career and how she got her first contract with a traditional publisher, published her first book, The Rock, and how she set up her first book signing. Learn valuable tips and gain fresh insight into both the writing life and the publishing process in this fun interactive interview conducted by Darlene Panzera.#Writing #writingfiction #WritingAdvice #writingbooks #authorinterviews

Debut author, Cara Grandle, tells us what it’s like to pursue a fiction writing career and how she got her first contract with a traditional publisher, published her first book, The Rock, and how she set up her first book signing. Learn valuable tips and gain fresh insight into both the writing life and the publishing process in this fun interactive interview conducted by Darlene Panzera.

45 Motivational Quotes for Aspiring Writers

By Darlene Panzera | July 8, 2021 |

Why do we need 45 Motivational Quotes for Aspiring Writers? Because creating a piece of written work worthy of publication is no easy task! Day after day we sit at our computers working long hours and sometimes it can take months or even years before we see any results. While all writers need regular doses of encouragement, it is especially imperative that aspiring writers who are still learning or who have not yet been published find ways to maintain their motivation.

Why do we need 45 Motivational Quotes for Aspiring Writers?

Because creating a piece of written work worthy of publication is no easy task! Day after day we sit at our computers working long hours and sometimes it can take months or even years before we see any results. While all writers need regular doses of encouragement, it is especially imperative that aspiring writers who are still learning or who have not yet been published find ways to maintain their motivation.

How a Mother-Daughter Team Came To Create Children’s Books

By Aspiring Writer Academy | July 7, 2021 |

There were several factors leading to the creation of the Riki and J.R. Horse Tales books, but the first notion of creating a children’s book series based on our two horses began back in 2013. My daughter, Samantha, was in college and her homework for her Adobe Illustrator Class was to take a real-life animal and digitally draw it as a cartoon. Samantha chose to draw our two horses, Riki and J.R. When Samantha showed me the finished drawings on her computer

There were several factors leading to the creation of the Riki and J.R. Horse Tales books, but the first notion of creating a children’s book series based on our two horses began back in 2013.

Scene & Sequel: The Secret to Plotting an Epic Novel (Part 2)

By Darlene Panzera | February 16, 2021 |

A good story is about a character who ACTS. His actions and decisions drive the story forward. However, many aspiring writers string together scenes that an editor might call ‘episodic.’ What is ‘episodic?’ This is when your character seems to enter a scene without a clear scene goal or intention of pursuing a scene goal, and a random event occurs causing the character to react. Then another disaster happens to this character in the next scene or the character gets more bad news.

A good story is about a character who ACTS. His actions and decisions drive the story forward. However, many aspiring writers string together scenes that an editor might call ‘episodic.’ What is ‘episodic?’ This is when your character seems to enter a scene without a clear scene goal or intention of pursuing a scene goal, and a random event occurs causing the character to react. Then another disaster happens to this character in the next scene or the character gets more bad news.

Scene & Sequel: The Secret to Plotting an Epic Novel

By Darlene Panzera | February 10, 2021 |

Scene & Sequel: The Secret to Plotting an Epic Novel (Part I) Ever feel ‘stuck’ while writing or had your story called ‘episodic’ or ‘unmotivated?’ Do you have a hard time moving your story forward in a way that grips the reader? Learn the individual components of Scene & Sequel to structure your scenes, advance the plot, and increase the stakes with each character decision. #Writing #writingfiction #WritingAdvice #writingtip #writingtips #GetPublished

Scene & Sequel: The Secret to Plotting an Epic Novel
(Part I)
Ever feel ‘stuck’ while writing or had your story called ‘episodic’ or ‘unmotivated?’ Do you have a hard time moving your story forward in a way that grips the reader?
Learn the individual components of Scene & Sequel to structure your scenes, advance the plot, and increase the stakes with each character decision.

12 Quick Tips to Write Dazzling Dialogue

By Darlene Panzera | January 26, 2021 |

Dialogue can be challenging to write. It takes time and practice to craft conversations that are believable, meaningful, serve to push the plot forward, and hold the attention of the reader. To help you improve your craft of fiction writing and make your character’s lines sparkle, we have created a list of 12 Quick Tips to Write Dazzling Dialogue. #Writing #writingfiction #WritingTips #Writer #Writers #WritersLife #WritingAdvice #writingtip #writingtips #GetPublished

Dialogue can be challenging to write. It takes time and practice to craft conversations that are believable, meaningful, serve to push the plot forward, and hold the attention of the reader. To help you improve your craft of fiction writing and make your character’s lines sparkle, we have created a list of 12 Quick Tips to Write Dazzling Dialogue.

10 Questions to Ask When Creating Characters for Your Story

By Darlene Panzera | January 25, 2021 |

You have decided that you want to delve into the world of fiction and write a story. Great! You even have an awesome story idea that you’ve been playing around with in your head. Great! Now…what kind of characters could be in a story like this? And most importantly, who will be the protagonist—the main character of your story? Below, I’ve listed 10 Questions to Ask When Creating Characters for Your Story. #Writing #writingfiction #WritingAdvice #writingtip #writingtips #GetPublished

You have decided that you want to delve into the world of fiction and write a story. Great! You even have an awesome story idea that you’ve been playing around with in your head. Great! Now…what kind of characters could be in a story like this? And most importantly, who will be the protagonist—the main character of your story?

Macro Edits: Looking at Your Story as a Whole

By Darlene Panzera | January 23, 2021 |

Macro editing looks at the whole story from beginning to end to see if the story makes sense, the characters are consistent with their personality, the plot structure is set up properly and functions to push the story forward. #Writing #writingfiction #WritingTips #Writer #Writers #WritersLife #WritingAdvice #writingtip #writingtips #GetPublished

After you have finished writing the first full draft of your novel, you may want to set it aside for a few weeks before going straight into edits to give your brain time to refresh. Giving yourself time to distance from the story allows you to come back to it with a different perspective. This is exactly what you will need for the first round of revision—macro edits.

Writing Fiction: How To Keep Track of Time in Your Story

By Darlene Panzera | November 30, 2020 |

Have you ever read a story where the timeline didn’t make sense? When writing a fictional story, using a ‘story calendar’ will help you keep track of time between each of your scenes to avoid confusion and keep your story believable and accurate. You can either hand-sketch a calendar, download a free online calendar, or buy a day planner like you would use to keep track of your own life. Except, you would be using it to track the characters and events in your story.

Have you ever read a story where the timeline didn’t make sense?
When writing a fictional story, using a ‘story calendar’ will help you keep track of time between each of your scenes to avoid confusion and keep your story believable and accurate.

Behind the Scenes: Interview with the Authors of the “Sew in Love” Collection

By Darlene Panzera | July 20, 2020 |

Behind the Scenes: Interview with the Authors of the “Sew in Love” Collection

Behind the Scenes: Interview with the Authors of the “Sew in Love” Collection.

Our Inspiration For Writing A Historical Novella Collection

By Darlene Panzera | July 14, 2020 |

Collaborating with other authors and writing novellas for a joint anthology is a great way to break into traditional publishing. Author Debby Lee and I (Darlene Panzera) had already been published with Barbour Publishing when we decided to bring in our good friend, Jacquolyn McMurray to create a novella collection.

Q & A with the authors of the Sew in Love Collection: Jacquolyn McMurray, Debby Lee, and Darlene Panzera.

Brainstorming Story Ideas: Where to Find Them

By Darlene Panzera | July 13, 2020 |

One of the top questions an author gets asked is: How do you come up with the ideas for your stories? In this blog post, we give you 3 useful resources and 3 Smart Writer Tips to help you find the inspiration you need to start writing fabulous fiction. #writing #writinglife #write #writer #writers #writingcommunity #writingtips #writingadvice

One of the top questions an author gets asked is: How do you come up with the ideas for your stories? In this blog post, we give you 3 useful resources and 3 Smart Writer Tips to help you find the inspiration you need to start writing fabulous fiction.

Why We Started Aspiring Writer Academy: Our Story

By Darlene Panzera | July 13, 2020 |

Hi, I’m Darlene Panzera, co-owner of Aspiring Writer Academy and I would like to share why my daughter, Samantha, and I started a blog on writing and publishing.

Hi, I’m Darlene Panzera, co-owner of Aspiring Writer Academy and I would like to share why my daughter, Samantha, and I started a blog on writing and publishing.