Eleven years ago, I spent a week out in spectacular Capitol Reef National Park, hiking day after day with my microcassette recorder, and writing dozens of chapters in HIDDEN EMPIRE, the first volume in my “Saga of Seven Suns” series. It was a terrific way to get real momentum going and to immerse myself in the big universe I was creating. Now, as I’ve just dived into writing THE DARK BETWEEN THE STARS, the first volume in a new “next-generation” trilogy set in the Seven Suns universe, it seemed a perfect opportunity for me to go back to Capitol Reef. ...
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Okay, I won’t make you wait for the rest.  These are the last three of “Kevin’s Eleven” tips to increase your writing productivity.  I hope you’ve found some of them useful, so you can charge ahead and get your novel done in November.  Start revving your creative engines! Productivity Tip #9: Think Outside the Keyboard After the previous tip, now that you’ve set up the perfect established writing spot, keep in mind that this is not the only way you can write.  Your word processor isn’t the only tool you have. This technique is one of the most obvious and...
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Are you fired up yet to write your novel in a month?  Need some more suggestions to get the words down and the story told?  Try these two. Productivity Tip #7—KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WRITING & EDITING Write during the writing stage. Edit during the editing stage. Even though both activities involve a writer sitting at the keyboard staring at the screen, Writing and Editing are two very different processes.  Each one requires a separate set of skills and talents; each uses a different part of your brain—the creative part and the analytical part. Learn to recognize the difference, and...
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Writing Productivity Tip #5: Use Every Minute If you think you need large blocks of time to accomplish any writing, then you’re kidding yourself.  One sentence at a time, one paragraph at a time, one page at a time. Sure, we’d all love extended, uninterrupted hours to do nothing but sit and think, to write page after page while immersed in the story and characters without a distraction in the world … but that’s a luxury most of us don’t have. In the real world, the majority of writers—even successful, published writers—still have full-time jobs and need to fit in...
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