And it begins

This is Writing Quests’ Official Newsletter.

November 1 is the start of Novel Quest, and regardless of what your challenge is this year, we all start together from zero. To help everyone write more, we have a full schedule of write-ins!

Who are you interviewing this year?

We have a full schedule of authors we are excited for you to meet.

Malcolm Newsome | November 2, 11am central time

Preferred Pronouns: He/Him

Website: www.malcolmnewsome.com

Instagram: malcolm.newsome

Brief Bio: Malcolm Newsome is a traditionally published children’s book author and cyber security expert from the Chicago area. He writes with the aim of bringing hope and possibilities to the world. Malcolm is the author of beloved children’s picture books including, Dear Star Baby, Sydney’s Big Speech, I Am The Spirit of Justice (co-author), and The Daddy-Daughter Dance. When he’s not writing or spending time with family, you’ll probably find him either reading, spending time outside in his mini-orchard, baking bread, or being a lumberjack.

Eveline Rose | November 5, 6pm central time

Preferred Pronouns: She/ Her

Website: www.evelineroseauthor.com

Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/evelineroseauthor/

Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/EvelineRoseAuthor

Brief Bio: Eveline is an award-winning author who fell in love with storytelling in high school. She’s thrilled to share her small-town romantic suspense stories with you. Every book has a heroine who is stronger than she believes, and a protective hero who falls hard and will do anything to protect her. Eveline lives in the Chicago area with her cat, HRH, The Prince of Destruction, where she pours her heart and soul into her characters for your reading pleasure. She’s a foodie (so much so that she includes original recipes in every book and will publish an SSI Cookbook) who loves her coffee and wine, and happy endings.

Check out our next newsletter to find out more about who we are interviewing next…

We are seeking volunteers to help with the Questy development. In particular, it would be helpful to find individuals with skills/experience/interest in

• php/Symphony dev

• React web

• UI and UX

We are on a journey to create a flexible writing progress tracker (Questy) that will have some nice features, including:

• supporting common Quests (defined writing challenges)

• supporting individual projects of different formats (novels, series, plays, short stories, etc)

• supporting some community communication capabilities, beginning with buddies

• supporting community/buddy progress tracking graphs (similar to what NaNo Faces provided when it was active).

You can read more about the project at GitHub (especially see our plans on our wiki).

By John Corso

Boring. This is the worst story reaction any reader can have. Conflict produces tension, which alleviates this boredom. Readers crave tension in their literary travels. They want safe unease to vicariously live through. From horror (where’s the ghost?) to romance (will they/ won’t they?) to action (who wins the battle?) to mystery (who stole the heirloom?), there should be a question with stakes to answer.

While there are a range of narrative conflict types, the two most common are external (outside the person) and internal (within the person); many of the most cherished tales are a combination of both.

Return of the Jedi’s climax polishes this with master strokes. Rebels fight the Empire in space (external) behind Luke, while the dark side is tempting his resolve (internal), which in itself becomes a lightsaber fight (external) and then redemption by his father (internal).

Now, imagine the same finale with Luke giving into the dark side at the first ask without any background battle. This would become anti-climactic at best and a grand disappointment at worst.

An advantage of writing conflict is how it can be increased or decreased depending on the author’s intent. A toddler’s tantrum can be mere whining or the kid tearing through a Martha Stewart living room like an over-caffeinated bear on heroin. Both are correct, depending on what the scene demands. Most stories drag when conflict, and/ or its consequences, are absent. This usually arrives in the forms of extended exposition, mundane life events, over-baked descriptions, and/ or bloated dialogue. Extended paragraphs spent on the same child quietly playing with blocks usually won’t add tension and the reader’s interest may likely slip.

Conflict isn’t required for every scene, but most progression should work towards accentuating active friction or provide deeper meaning to ongoing conflict. Adding layers of unease to a story adds value to the reader’s experience. The Matrix works this idea well.

Relentless agents pursue the heroes. Morpheus’ believes Neo is “the one” with some of his crew having significant doubts. Neo questions his abilities. Cypher wants inside the matrix. Agent Smith hates humans. Trinity secretly loves Neo.

Tension can arise from any challenge a character has to struggle against. Think simple. Start with external conflict, even something as simple as someone fighting through weather. Add a bully blocking the way. Finally, add the protagonist’s personal conflict.

Storming winter winds assaulted Fria’s (external) walk home. She huddled for warmth within her coat’s padded layers (external). Karen centered herself into a wide stance on the sidewalk. Her silhouette towered motionless, complete with infamous raised fists (external). Fria debated running or fighting (internal). Neither would get her home on time to let in her younger brother (internal). Either way, Mother’s wrath will be unforgiving (external).

So, how do you make your story better through conflict? Thick tension pushes scenes along like a raging river. Readers will keep turning pages to find out what happens next. When your characters aren’t struggling, your readers are probably yawning.

Hi Writers!

Are you trying to write a novel in an entire month? You’re in the right place! We embrace you. Are you trying to wrestle a WIP into a FN (Finished Novel)? We embrace you! Are you trying to edit a draft into a PN (Polished Novel)? We embrace you!

Sail forth daringly into November! Your exciting noveling adventure awaits.

We’ve got you covered with tips & tricks, pep talks, camaraderie, and so much more! We’re here. You’re here. Bring a friend.

We believe in your moxie. We believe in your ignus fatuus. We believe in your voice.

So go you! You can do it! Stretch, grow, and try. Your story matters. We can’t wait to see what you can do.

Love,

Your Writing Quests Guides