For some reason I can’t explain, I’m critiquing my very first novel TRAPPED, which I wrote in the 4th Grade in 1977.

TRAPPED,  A Graphic Novel, Part Two
( see Part One)

(5)
BZT
    When everyone was out, including Soldier,
Don asked, “Do you have a leader? If you… Read full post »

While cleaning out the garage I came across the very first novel I ever wrote. What I’ve done here is to include the pages of the novel, with a transcription and commentary.

Without further ado, I present you, TRAPPED, Part One.

TRAPPED
WRITTEN AND ILLISRATED BY ANDREW ROSENBERG

Jeez, a typo… Read full post »

NaNoWriMo

It’s that special time of year when we ask ourselves, “WTF?â€

It’s that time when we commit to writing 50,000 words of utter crap in a mere 30 days.

It’s when we kiss our families goodbye on Halloween and hope to see them again sometime after Thanksgiving, when we crawl… Read full post »

Are you ready for some news?

This is probably the hardest post I’ve ever had to write, but as of Monday, I’ve gone back to “work.†Like Jack Sparrow, I’ve searched the oceans for treasure and found a job. Yes, most people would be super-excited about started a new job.… Read full post »

Are you ready for some news?

This is probably the hardest post I’ve ever had to write, but as of Monday, I’ve gone back to “work.†Like Jack Sparrow, I’ve searched the oceans for treasure and found a job. Yes, most people would be super-excited about started a new job. I… Read full post »

At the PNWA Conference last month, most of the agents and editors I spoke to about Steam Palace suggested that I not submit my ms until it was closer to 100,000 words. I was at 142K. That would mean a 30% reduction in wordcount. How do I cut a third of… Read full post »

Yup, it’s already that time of year, for those of us infected with write-a-novel-in-a-month fever. September 1 is the date when I officially log on to NaNoWriMo.org and start planning my next big novel.

Right now I’m in the midst of final edits for my 2009 NaNo novel Steam Palace. I… Read full post »

I’ve received that question a few times lately in regards to some non-writing matters. But it got me thinking…what about writing am I passionate about?

I started thinking about things like Show vs Tell, character arcs, Hero’s Journey, scene structure, and the appropriate use of commas. P… Read full post »

Nerves.

Exhaustion.

Drinks at the bar. (after pitching)

That pretty much sums up my PNWA Conference experience.

I was far more nervous pitching agents than having a job interview. And I couldn’t sleep, worrying about it. Yes, I’d love a job, but I’d die for a publishing contract. So I ha… Read full post »

This is my submission to Victoria Marini’s First Page Contest!
Email: andrew.rosenberg at writerunner dot com
Title: Teen Alien
Genre: YA SF
Word Count: 55,000

Will return all critiques!

Submission:
They say before you draw your last breath, your life hits replay.

They never said it could happen after.… Read full post »

Thanks to Victoria Mixon’s post for inspiring this.

I’m an idea guy. I’m always thinking about situations, complications, characters, conflicts, twists, what have you. I think I’m original, creative, and I can generate the basis of compelling stories.

But there’s a problem.

It remi… Read full post »

Okay. For my last few NaNoWriMo novels (Steam Palace, Dead Air) and my screenplay, I’ve been a plotter. Meaning, I’ve plotted out most of the major scenes and turning points of the story. Plotting is a process by which you can create a roadmap for your story so you don’t spend… Read full post »

The hell with NaNoWriMo. Who needs 30 days when it only takes 10 or so?

Yes, I’ve spent the last few days furiously writing a new story. Yeah, I was kind of planning to write this particular story for NaNo, but I’m taking a writing class and I thought it would… Read full post »

The final tally: 107 pages, with a day to spare. I probably wrote on ~20 of those days, since I went to a convention among other things.

Not sure how I feel right now. Definitely glad to have a First Draft. Now I have a real clear roadmap as to what… Read full post »

So far, who knows? Hard to believe all the things in my script already: Gambling schemes, train wrecks, spies, hostile insurgents, vicious soldiers, and religious overtones. And I’m only halfway. And since this is the 18th day of Script Frenzy…I’m actually behind.

One thing I’m struggl… Read full post »

Well, it’s been an interesting 8 days so far. I’m a little bit behind, but I’m not concerned. It’s taking a while to really get this screenwriting thing going. It’s such a different medium than literature. Everything is so condensed, so every line is critical. Here’s what I’ve le… Read full post »

Just want to start out by saying that our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Japan today as they deal with the earthquake and tsunami that hit them. Japanese popular culture seems riveted with the concept of disaster but no one actually wants it to happen. Please consider a… Read full post »

Yes, like Yahoo! the name includes a bang (!).

Script Frenzy! is a month-long excursion into the art of writing a screenplay. It’s sponsored by the same folks who bring us NaNoWriMo, but the goal is to write 100 pages of script in 30 days. Easy? Hard? Who knows, I’ve never… Read full post »

Writing a Script – I write a script for a scene from Steam Palace. Scripting requires a different viewpoint on what makes a good scene.

Interjections! Excitement! Emotion! – I have an epiphany about using emotion to drive a scene.

Don’t forget to add The Writerunner to your subscriptions… Read full post »

So in preparation for writing a script for my History Story, I’ve been been practicing by trying to script out scenes from Steam Palace. Below is my attempt at the first scene. You can read the original scene here. Here are my observations about the process so far.

1. It
… Read full post »

WRITING CONTENT MOVED!

As of today, all new writing content on http://blog.dawnsrise.com has moved to The WriteRunner (http://blog.writerunner.com).

Please update your links and subscriptions accordingly!

I’ll still post links to new content here for a while.

Not sure what I’m going t… Read full post »

Just want to start out by saying that our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Japan today as they deal with the earthquake and tsunami that hit them. Japanese popular culture seems riveted with the concept of disaster but no one actually wants it to happen. Please consider a… Read full post »

As some of you have seen already, I’m transferring the “writing†portion of this blog to The WriteRunner. I’m looking for ideas about widgets and other things to do for it. I’ve already installed a comment system called Disqus and I’m using a new-fangled template.

My tentative lau… Read full post »

Okay, maybe I’m starting to reach for blog topics. It’s hard coming up with two of these every week. I’ve written something like 350 of these over the last few years, so after a while it’s hard to not keep running over the same old ground. But I think I’ve hit… Read full post »

I’m going to talk about how the example of IBM’s Watson is a good object lesson on what not to do in your writing. Bear with me for a minute.

I was very impressed at how IBM’s creation Watson fared at Jeopardy. As a former computer scientist at places such… Read full post »