Kristin Wolden Nitz
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Some kids aren’t really sure whether or not they’d like to play a sport. If you know someone who’s thinking about trying soccer, strongly consider handing that person a copy of Ruth McNally Barshaw’s Ellie McDoodle: Most Valuable Player. This is…
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Suffering from a Novel Addiction
I’m suffering from a rather deep and consuming addiction to my novel. It shouldn’t be a surprise. My character has hit her darkest moment now that I’ve reached 36163 words. (Another accidental pallindrome) Now it’s the rush to the climax. …
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Meeting with Students in Jefferson City
I”m looking forward to doing a day of writing workshops with students in Jefferson City, Missouri this Saturday. We’ll be looking at using specific detail and figurative language in the morning and examining the relationship between conflict and character in…
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34343 Words
While I’m not participating in the NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, I am tapping into some of its energy. Instead of polishing words and phrases, I’m only taking them to a certain level before moving on. I have dreams of…
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Just Kill Him
Sometimes writers stop in the middle of conversations once they realize what they must sound like to the outside world. Often this happens when discussing the motivations of various winged or furry creatures. Yesterday, the woman behind the counter of the…
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Escape from Venice!
I am pleased and proud to announce that my main character managed to escape from Venice! My character and I spent a lot of time there–far more time that I’d planned–due to my midcourse correction in plotting. Now I have…
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23,333 Words
Lots of writers work faster than I do. Plenty of my Facebook friends will regularly post one or two thousand words a day, and they’ll do this day after day. In fact, Stephen King thinks people are serious slackers if…
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22,222 Words
In the middle of May, I was about 28,000 words into the Italian Chase Novel and wondering about whether or not I needed to Cut to the Chase. Were things moving too slowly? Was I adding in too much description? Two weeks…
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Why Characters Can’t Rely on Authority Figures
I often tell my writing students that editors are looking for stories where the main character struggles to overcome an obstacle, solve a problem or obtain wisdom. Certainly the main character can have help from the supporting cast, but there…
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USA Vs. Japan for Gold in Women’s Soccer
The gold medal women’s soccer game will be played on Thursday at 12:30 Eastern Time on NBCSN, the NBC Sports Network. I’m expecting another dynamic game! The Canadians and Americans hustled and scrapped their way through the game. Both sides…
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Kristin Wolden Nitz 