My goal for this year is to finish my novel by August. I think perhaps I might be mad. At the moment, the novel sits at 34,000 words, and I aim to triple that amount before I’m finished. To complete the novel by August would mean writing more than I have ever written in my life. In 8 months.
I thought I was nuts until some simple calculations revealed that my pace needs to be about 500 words a day. That is definitely doable. However, that pace means no weekends or vacations off. I’m not known for my consistency, so this will definitely test my perseverance.
To give myself an incentive, if I am on track by June 1, I will pre-order the final book in The Hunger Games series.
If not, I get to wait until September 1 to get my copy. Which will be pure torture.
Any ideas for other smaller incentives I could give myself along the way? Cuz I’m gonna need ‘em.
January 19, 2010 | Categories: novel, Writing | Tags: finishing my novel, goals, Incentives, novel, Writing | 3 Comments »
UPDATE: Go HERE for a revised and expanded list.
I write a lot of conversations into my novel, and I found myself in a rut last week.
“She said”
“He spat”
“She answered”
“He whispered”
Apparently I like those four verbs. Spat was always when someone said something nasty. Whisper was one particular character because “mutter” has connotations of low self esteem and “said softly” sounds dumb. Answered and said are self explanatory.
In the interest of diversifying my conversations, I decided to look up a list of verbs for talking. Perhaps I did not choose a good set of search terms, but google gave me nothing. Instead, I used thesaurus.com and compiled my own list. So for your writing pleasure, here’s a nice alphabetical list of 64 verbs to use for conversations. Please let me know if I’ve missed any good ones.
| Admit |
Drone |
Ramble |
Sob |
| Advise |
Exclaim |
Repeat |
Spit |
| Announce |
Falter |
Reply |
Sputter |
| Answer |
Groan |
Report |
Squawk |
| Argue |
Growl |
Respond |
Squeal |
| Bark |
Hiss |
Retort |
Stammer |
| Bellow |
Holler |
Roar |
State |
| Blurt |
Howl |
Sass |
Stutter |
| Call |
Interrupt |
Scream |
Tattle |
| Chatter |
Lie |
Screech |
Twitter |
| Coax |
Moan |
Shout |
Wail |
| Complain |
Mumble |
Shriek |
Weep |
| Confess |
Murmur |
Sigh |
Whimper |
| Cough |
Parrot |
Slur |
Whine |
| Cry |
Preach |
Snarl |
Whisper |
| Demand |
Proclaim |
Sniff |
Yell |
March 20, 2009 | Categories: For Writers, novel, Writing | Tags: For Writers, list, novel, resource, talking verbs, Writing | 10 Comments »
