ARCHIVE FOR Dead Darlings: Everything Novel

This month at the DeadDarlings Office we took a close look at inspirational ideas, first drafts and what it means to build a series.

Discovering Meaning

In an ambiguous world,Finding True North can be difficult. Lisa Birk looks at how to read and write in a world where definitions are unstable.

“Where’s your novel?” Yes, we at the DeadDarlings Office are checking in on the status of your latest draft. How’s it going? We did an inventory of our own works in progress as well. Here are the some of the places and phases we found our novels stuck in this month.

In front of the screen

In “My Secret Writing Habit,” Anna Williams confesses to the guilty pleasure of writing while watching. 

What now? Here at the DeadDarlings office we headed into a new year under a new presidency. Writers know how to handle transitions. We notice the shifts taking place within our scenes or between our chapters and choose how to smooth out the journey for our readers by looking at what has to change and what stays the same from one state to the next. Last month we looked at all the things we want to keep doing in 2017.

Here are the Dead Darlings’ offices we know writer's inspiration can come from nearly anywhere: news headlines, overheard conversations, or the characters in your life. This month, we got inspired not just with stories, but the craft lessons and novel fodder hidden in different media.

Books

Anna Williams takes a closer look at the hidden heroism in the Not-so-Brave Girls featured in the novels of her youth.  

We’re heading from the Dead Darlings’ offices into the holidays armed with presents and egg nog and thick wool mittens. Every writer knows that along with the good cheer and mistletoe holidays bring the complicated dramas of family, expectations, and magic (or magical thinking) that make stories great. Here are some things to pack into your sleigh as you head into the festivities.