By Ronda Simmons Have you heard of NaNoWriMo? It stands for National Novel Writing Month. The challenge is to write an entire first draft, fifty thousand words, during November. If things go well, you’ll have a manuscript at the end of the thirty days of the eleventh month.
Tag Archives: Ronda Simmons
Getting Off of The Struggle Bus
By Ronda Simmons The pandemic has passed the six-month mark, and I’ve been riding the struggle bus. Michael Christensen defines the struggle bus as “an imaginary bus representing a state of perpetual struggles or difficulties. A metaphor that relates physically riding a bus with going through hardships. Used with the same terminology of riding anContinue reading “Getting Off of The Struggle Bus”
We Like to Do A Little Digging
By Ronda Simmons So, you’ve written your first draft, and it’s okay. It’s a compelling story, your plot is on point. You’ve paid attention to structure, character development, grammar, and spelling. But when you read it, you know there’s something off. The characters feel flat, the dialog is emotionally dull. Something is missing.
CHANGES IN STORE FOR NCW
By Ronda Simmons Originally posted April 01, 2020 There has been some confusion lately about the mission of the Northern Colorado Writers. Despite our motto, “helping writers navigate their way to success,” there are some who have taken to social media promoting NCW as a politically conservative organization. WRITE, RIGHT, RITE: THEY SOUND ALIKE, BUTContinue reading “CHANGES IN STORE FOR NCW”
WE CAN ALL BE POETS, EVEN IF WE CAN’T ALL, LIKE, BE POETS
By Ronda Simmons Originally posted February 20, 2020 I liked poetry in high school. Loved it, even. In that time and place, the only people who got enthusiastic about poetry were the English teachers, and even some of them weren’t keen. These were the days before being a nerd was cool. Kids my age wereContinue reading “WE CAN ALL BE POETS, EVEN IF WE CAN’T ALL, LIKE, BE POETS”
SO YOU WANNA BE A CRUCIVERBALIST
By Ronda Simmons Originally posted January 17, 2020 Like many people, I love crossword puzzles. Lately, I’ve been wondering if it would be possible to make a living as a cruciverbalist, a crossword puzzle maker, so I did some digging to find out. The short answer is: No.
Agent Claus Is Coming to Town
By Ronda Simmons Originally posted December 27, 2019 My December blog post tradition of re-writing a holiday classic from a writer’s perspective was a no-brainer this year. Deepest thanks to Angie Hodapp of Nelson Literary for inspiring this reimagining. And apologies to Mr. Haven Gillespie who wrote the original. Agent Claus is Coming to Town Forget cookiesContinue reading “Agent Claus Is Coming to Town”
Warming Up
By Ronda Simmons Originally posted September 19, 2019 Professional football players warm-up before every game or practice. So do rock climbers, Little Leaguers, dancers and anyone else whose work or art is physical. Increasing heart rates improves your circulation. Stronger blood flow delivers more oxygen to the brain and body and gets the fluids movingContinue reading “Warming Up”
Tropes Nopes
By Ronda Simmons Originally posted August 21, 2019 A trope, according to Miriam-Webster, is “a common or overused theme or device.” In movies and literature, examples include: · the ugly duckling turns into a beauty queen · the commoner inherits the crown · the dead bad guy isn’t dead after all · the race toContinue reading “Tropes Nopes”
