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    30 Tips for 30 Days
    30 Tips for 30 Days
    30 Tips for 30 Days
    Ebook73 pages39 minutes

    30 Tips for 30 Days

    By Devon Ellington

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Kick start your novel, get out of your own way. This is a  guide to surviving National Novel Writing Month and beyond. You can start with the prep and Day 1 at any time, not only on Nov. 1.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDEW Books
    Release dateNov 6, 2018
    ISBN9781386631699
    30 Tips for 30 Days
    Author

    Devon Ellington

    Devon Ellington publishes under half a dozen names in fiction and nonfiction. She is also an internationally-produced playwright and radio writer. She has published six novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles under the various names. She spent over 25 years working backstage in theatre, including Broadway, and in film and television production. 

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      Book preview

      30 Tips for 30 Days - Devon Ellington

      30 TIPS FOR 30 DAYS

      Kick-start Your novel and Get Out of Your Own Way

      A Guidebook for Nano and Beyond

      ––––––––

      By Devon Ellington

      INFORMATION ON PREVIOUS EDITIONS

      30 Tips for 30 Days: Kick Start Your Novel and Get Out of Your Own Way

      By Devon Ellington

      © 2018 Devon Ellington

      Third Edition

      DEW Books

      First Edition, ©2007 Devon Ellington

      Published by Dragon’s Treehouse Press

      Second Edition, ©2012 Devon Ellington

      Published by Azure Dragon Press

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in print or electronic formats, or any storage and retrieval system, without express permission from the publisher. Contact DEWBooks@devonellingtonwork.com for more information.

      ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

      ––––––––

      This is ONE way of working, not THE way of working. Play with it until you find what works for you. If my experiences can save you time or pain, terrific.

      I have so many wonderful people to thank for this – my Trusted Readers and dear writing friends including Artie Brown, Brenda Birch, Colin Galbraith, Kristin King, Michelle Miles, Lara Stauffer, Pamela Taylor, Lori Widmer, Paula Hendrickson, Diane Wardsworth, and more.

      I also have to thank my group of adoptees during the 2006 National Novel Writing Month. Some of this material was developed prior to that Nano, a lot of it after; but every morning I sent them an email with a bit of cheer-leading after I finished my quota for the morning, but before I started the rest of my day. Without them, I wouldn’t have so much information in one place. I’d like to thank the participants in the Year-Long Novel Course I taught from September 2011 to August 2012 – the ones who survived all twelve months showed stamina, dedication, and commitment to both the art and craft of writing.

      Other material was developed through the series of writing workshops I taught.

      If you get the chance to do Nano, jump at it at least once in your life. It’s fun to write in community and to get out of your own way. Many of the techniques with which you experiment during that month of community creative insanity can be applied to the rest of your work, be it fiction or non-fiction. Eventually, you will outgrow it and it will no longer serve you, but it’s a good way to light a fire under yourself and get started on a project.

      But the most important thing to do is show up at the page, every day, especially on the days you don’t want to. Books don’t need to write themselves. Writers WRITE them. Be a writer who writes today, not maybe someday in the future.

      Nano is free, and therefore, so is this cheerleading little handbook of tips!

      PART ONE:

      PREPARATION

      Blogs/Journals

      ––––––––

      It can be very helpful to create a blog or journal to help you through the process. You can write it in longhand in a blank book, or keep it on your computer. In her wonderful book WRITE AWAY!, Elizabeth George shares entries from journals she keeps for each book she writes. My preferred blog host is Word Press (www.wordpress.com). They are easy to use, have

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