Ask the Author: Nara Duffie
Answered Questions (5)
Nara Duffie
Hi Parafox,
I outlined my process in a TEDx Kids talk that might help. Take a look and let me know what you think!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpGpz...
Nara
I outlined my process in a TEDx Kids talk that might help. Take a look and let me know what you think!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpGpz...
Nara
Nara Duffie
The fame, the money, beach houses in Costa Rica... but even more than all of that, I enjoy meeting people at book festivals and schools. People who love writing as much as me.
Nara Duffie
Here are 10 things I learned writing my novel:
1. Participate in National Novel Writing Month. The word counter helped me stay motivated, and I had fun meeting other writers at nearby write-ins.
2. Stay positive. Don’t get discouraged. Even if your first draft is awful (mine was). Keep going.
3. Get a good thesaurus. I recommend the Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus. It helped a lot.
4. Take breaks... but not so many that you don’t finish. Also, go on Writing Days—days where you write all day, but take fun breaks, so it's an Adventure Day too.
5. Get a mentor and lots of support.
6. See it, feel it, write it. This was one of our mottos. Imagine what's happening. Try to feel what your characters are feeling. Then write that down. It makes writing a little easier.
7. Reaction, reaction, reaction. This was another one of our mottos. When anything happens, your characters need to react in their own way.
8. Practice instant writing. If you get stuck, just write. Don’t let your fingers stop moving. Write whatever comes to mind. Sooner or later, you’ll find what you need.
9. Enjoy your characters. Whenever I felt tired, Maisy would cheer me up.
10. Know when to stop. Your novel doesn’t have to be perfect. If you keep trying to make it perfect, you’ll edit forever.
1. Participate in National Novel Writing Month. The word counter helped me stay motivated, and I had fun meeting other writers at nearby write-ins.
2. Stay positive. Don’t get discouraged. Even if your first draft is awful (mine was). Keep going.
3. Get a good thesaurus. I recommend the Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus. It helped a lot.
4. Take breaks... but not so many that you don’t finish. Also, go on Writing Days—days where you write all day, but take fun breaks, so it's an Adventure Day too.
5. Get a mentor and lots of support.
6. See it, feel it, write it. This was one of our mottos. Imagine what's happening. Try to feel what your characters are feeling. Then write that down. It makes writing a little easier.
7. Reaction, reaction, reaction. This was another one of our mottos. When anything happens, your characters need to react in their own way.
8. Practice instant writing. If you get stuck, just write. Don’t let your fingers stop moving. Write whatever comes to mind. Sooner or later, you’ll find what you need.
9. Enjoy your characters. Whenever I felt tired, Maisy would cheer me up.
10. Know when to stop. Your novel doesn’t have to be perfect. If you keep trying to make it perfect, you’ll edit forever.
Nara Duffie
That's a tough one to answer because I'm not sure yet! Not at the moment anyway : )
Nara Duffie
The Monster Realm was inspired by Clash of the Titans (the original 1981 movie, not the remake). All those monsters were designed, built, and animated by Ray Harryhausen, one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. I just love the personality Ray puts into his monsters.
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