#Jenna Moreci

[thatwritergirlsblog]

"Shut Up and Write the Book" by Jenna Moreci | BOOK REVIEW"

[the960writers]

10 BEST Tips for Writing FIRST DRAFTS

Writing with Jenna Moreci

[georgelthomas]

Book Review: Shut Up and Write the Book: A Step-by-Step Guide to Crafting Your Novel From Plan to Print by Jenna Moreci

Book Review: Shut Up and Write the Book: A Step-by-Step Guide to Crafting Your Novel From Plan to Print by Jenna Moreci #ReaderCommunity #ReadingCommunity #BookCommunity #Reading #Books #BookReview #Review #WritingGuide #WritingAdvice #WritingTips

Hi everyone! How are you all? Today is Friday, and it’s time for another review. Today, I am reviewing Jenna Moreci’s Shut Up and Write the Book: A Step-by-Step Guide to Crafting Your Novel From Plan to Print. Shut up and Write the Book was published in 2023 by Jenna Moreci and is 240 pages long. What It’s AboutShut up and Write the Book is a thorough and detailed step-by-step guide in which…

[mari-mistletoe]

started reading "Shut Up And Write The Book" by Jenna Moreci and so far it's really been helping me "visualize" how I should go about writing Dragonswarm.

I may not be aiming to get it published, but I am still somewhat of a beginner writer who has no clue how to go about writing a long-form story, so I'll take the help I can get :)

[georgi-girl]

This is the first dark fantasy novel I ever enjoyed reading. Big props Miss Jenna Moreci.

[danganronpafakes]

Junko: You toy with me? A woman above you? A queen?

Makoto: A queen who wagers on human life. Who treats men as dogs. No queen like that is above me. That queen is low.

Source: Jenna Moreci (“The Savior’s Champion”)

[tupayapsina]

Ruby: I just come here when I want to be alone

Weiss: Then why did you bring me here?

Ruby: I want to be alone with you

[bythenineshards]

I kinda want to rant about Jenna Moreci. I have grievances.

[incorrect-idolmastersidem-quotes]

[Italian class in the office...]

Natsuki: (writes the text on the whiteboard that says 'Allor si mosse, e io li tenni dietro.')

Jun: Translate this.

Hayato: I cannot.

Jun: (retrieves a barbed wire baseball bat) You dare to defy me?

Hayato: I dare to admit I cannot read Italian.

[jennamoreci]

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[mercurial-thrills]

I've been taking writing seriously for eight years. Here are eight lessons I've learned.

*Buckle up, this is going to be a long one*

As I squinted at my phone in the darkness, I stared at my Calendar. Blocks of red and pink were blocked into my schedule: do schoolwork, take a quick break, attend an online co-op class, sign up for a school workshop, finally read the first chapter of that thick textbook I bought.

Then, I looked above it all, the day of significance in magenta.

"Anniversary of Secrets." September 9th. The day I chose to take writing seriously. Between unfinished stories on loose-leaf paper, and untitled documents of characters on my desktop, writing had only been a spur-of-the-moment activity.

But then, September 9th came along. From visions of girls riding dragons and comments of classmates writing their own stories, I realized I could be like them. I could take writing as seriously as they did, spending more time on my stories than fixated on my favourite series.

In fact, writing became a fixation of my own. Over these eight years, I have watched countless videos, read a few books, and wrote hopefully around a couple hundred thousand words. As well, I have amassed a fair amount of writing advice. Here are eight of the lessons I learned over the years.

Lesson #1: Outline First, Write Later.

Ideas popped into my head like a game of whack-a-mole. They popped in and out whenever they pleased. I dreamed of cat-eared superheroes, of zodiac themed dystopias, of strange, American-style Isekais before I knew what that word meant.

My attempts to outline the story were inflated by my urge to write it. By the time I started writing my first official project, I decided to write the outline and FINISH the outline before jumping into the story.

Lesson #2: Embrace Diversity

If you've been on the Internet in literature or writing related circles, it's hard to avoid the topic of diversity, and for a good reason. Diverse situations and characters create new perspectives for readers and writers alike.

I learned to embrace diversity through a video made by Jenna Moreci:

After watching this, I thought more about my character's racial and ethnic backgrounds. Along with that, my characters became much more queer, and far more neurodivergent than I could've fathomed back in the day. Their backstories and family situations are more diverse as well: some of them were in foster care. Others came from big families.

The most important thing is to not do this offensively, and honour every culture you come across that's different than yours. Thankfully, there are plenty of resources online, such as Writing With Color(https://www.tumblr.com/writingwithcolor).

Lesson #3: Take Inspiration From Your Favourite Things.

My first story, Secrets, took direct inspiration from the books Harry Potter, Bone, Percy Jackson, Masterminds, and Eragon, respectively. But my second big project became a result of my Voltron obsession (which, assuming you're reading this on Tumblr, I'm sure you're familiar with).

The story formed as a space opera with alien planets I invented myself, and a human species who evolved to conditions on Kepler-22b. I'm not going to deny that I drew inspiration from the "Leakira and the Defenders Of Tomorrow" AU. Though this project is now its own being, I cannot deny where its origins came from.

Lesson #4: Do NaNoWriMo. Seriously.

First of all, I'd suggest staying away from the actual site. There have been numerous controversies, including demonstrating support of AI for creative works, and predatory behaviour on its forums. That doesn't mean we cannot still participate in writing a novel within a month.

Doing an unaffiliated one-month writing challenge will likely not help you get better at writing. Quality over quantity, after all. However, it will help to create a writing habit, and force you to think of unorthodox situations where you could write words… like, on the bus, in a bathroom stall, or in a waiting room.

Lesson #5: This is not going to be a career. Not for a while.

I was a 17-year-old, frothing at the mouth, obsessed with what my hands could produce at the click of keys. I wanted this to be my career. Badly.

However, college loomed around the corner, and I could not fathom spending so much money to learn creative writing in university, when it would have so little pay-off later down the line. Plus, I knew the field was a competitive one, and boy, I was not ready to compete.

If you want writing to become a career one day, go for it. Work hard on your writing. Focus on it like a bird focuses on looking for its worm. Keep in mind, however, whether the pay-off will be worth it for you.

For example, if you are willing to compete and set yourself apart, it would be beneficial to study English, Creative Writing, or Journalism at a university. You could become a copyeditor, a journalist, or a teacher, with some extra learning. However, what if becoming an author feels unstable? You could consider a career in a transferrable field such as office administration, library technician, marketing, psychology, or accounting.

Lesson #6: Fanfiction is good.

When I got into the game Terraria, I spent many hours traversing the right side of my world and building cube-shaped houses, and far too many hours before I thought I was powerful enough to fight the Eye Of Cthulhu. That aside, I started writing fanfiction inspired by the franchise.

Surely, there’s not much canon material regarding the NPCs whose names change when they get killed. So, I made my own. I elaborated on characters that had pre-existing relationships and made up my own where there weren’t any. It was a brilliant practice in writing when none of my other ideas seemed appealing.

I have since finished said fanfiction, but I still write about certain fandoms from time to time. It helps to have an outlet for creative ideas that would not fit your other stories.

Lesson #7: Don’t Fear The Critiquer

Reading my works aloud startled me to the bone. Thankfully, my friend clarified that this writing club gave good critique on his own worldbuilding. So, I showed up, and oh, am I ever so thankful I showed up, because it has, quite literally, changed the way I see writing.

Reading out my writing to others has made me better at sharing, and at accepting critique. I received a lot of praise, and I also realized a lot of mistakes. Most of all, I learned not to fear what people thought of what I wrote: chances are they’d like at least part of it.

Lesson #8: Every little bit counts.

After many years of taking it slow, life started to get busy again. Life became more cluttered, and I fought to balance my classes with any extracurriculars I may have had, with therapy appointments and going to the doctor’s to sort out health shenanigans, with the full time summer job I had, and with nurturing my relationships.

If you had a hard time reading that sentence, that’s what my life has been like for the past year or so. Busy, cluttered, hard to organize, but still manageable in small chunks. This is what writing while busy should look like. Little bits and pieces of writing, whether it be in a chapter or short stories.

The Big Conclusion

Plot twist: These eight lessons I learned were relevant to each of my eight years spent learning the craft. I spent them embracing the craft, learning to make good settings, and understanding how to create interesting plots. At the same time, I have yet to self-publish any fiction other than a short story.

Still, I’m happy with the progress I’ve made in these past 8 years. It’s been a long journey, but with every year, I learn so much more.

If you’re looking for where to start, this is where you should: whether it’s writing down that random idea that’s been sitting in your head, or scribbling down a drabble about the rain outside, just take one first step.

[writingquestionsanswered]

what do you think about Abbie Emmons? do you think she gives good advice? I'm wanting to become a writer and I don't want to listen to someone if they are giving wrong advice haha-

AuthorTubes to Watch

As with all writing advice, "good" is in the eye of the beholder. I haven't watched all of Abbie's videos, but I've enjoyed what I've seen and find her advice to be pretty solid. I think she does a great job of distilling things down so they're easy to understand, and I appreciate that she tackles things from a more technical/scientific perspective.

I do think it's a good idea to branch out, however, and not just take one person's writing advice. By getting different perspectives on the same thing, you can get a feel for what advice does/doesn't work for you, what you agree with and what you don't, etc. Other "Author Tubers" I think are worth checking out:

The Creative Penn Merphy Napier (Dear Author) Ellen Brock Alexa Donne Lindsay Puckett Shaelin Writes Alyssa Matesic Liselle Sambury Natalia Leigh Hannah Lee Kidder Jenna Moreci Heart Breathings Terrible Writing Advice Bethany Atazadeh Jane Kalmes Lynn D. Jung Kate Cavanaugh Writes Kristen Martin Mandi Lynn iWriterly

Again... it's all about trying some different channels and seeing whose advice works for you. ♥

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I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

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[thatwritergirlsblog]

My favourite quotes from Jenna Moreci's Shut Up and Write the Book

I was sent an e-ARC of Shut Up and Write the Book by @jennamoreci in exchange for an honest review, and I was absolutely blown away by how good this writing craft book is!

Watch my full video review here.

Now, without further ado, here are some of my favourite quotes from the book:

"You experience enough pressure on the daily. Writing should be an escape, not a burden."

"That’s the crux of imagination: It’s play."

"Congratulations, you’re officially a businessperson, and it behooves you to study the industry you’re entering."

"It’s a lot easier to ride out the difficult parts of the writing process when you deeply care about the material and genuinely believe in its message."

"That’s the beauty of being a writer; we have the power to destroy and create however we please."

"Experience is one of the biggest assets to your writing."

"Allow your audience to experience the world as the characters journey through the story."

"If your world-building is lacking variety, it’s lacking realism."

"Present tense is easier to write, and past tense is easier to read. But you can make either tense work in your favour."

"Accept the suckage."

"Once you go back to edit your first chapter, you’ll be doing so as a stronger, more competent creator."

"The first chapter of your novel is designed to make your readers care."

"Chapters allow your reader to find natural pauses within the story."

"The key to keeping your reader engaged isn’t necessarily to make the story itself unpredictable, but to make the emotional tone unpredictable… The easiest way to do this is to employ the Roller-Coaster Method – starting and ending each chapter with a different emotion."

"A great chapter will answer enough questions to move the plot forward while creating even more questions to keep people reading."

"Let go of the need to have everyone interpret your setting in the exact manner you see it."

"Your novel should be a series of low and high points as well as slow and fast points weaving in and out of one another."

"You don’t just want to surprise the reader – you want to answer a question the readers may not have had in the first place."

"Readers tend to prefer protagonists who work hard for what they desire."

"Think of the climax as the explosion and the resolution as the dust settling."

"Don’t just recount the events of the story. Too much telling will destroy the ability of the reader to immerse themselves in the novel."

"The more I write, the less I see my bad habits popping up, which means my first drafts become cleaner and cleaner as I grow."

"Your title is a marketing tool designed to attract the right audience."

"The book is finished because you say so."

If you write genre fiction novels, this book is for you! So, get your copy now.

[amaliazeichnerin]

Bad Writing Advice from Stephen King's ON WRITING: A MEMOIR OF THE CRAFT

Whenever newbies ask authors about good writing advice books, sooner or later someone mentions Stephen King's "ON WRITING: A MEMOIR OF THE CRAFT" However, as this youtuber points out, some of the writing advice in this book is rather vague and not helpful. (In case you wonder, this is not about bashing Stephen King, the Youtuber also explains that he likes King's novels).

He also explains that at the point when King published his writing advice book, he had been writing for ca. 40 years and seemed to had gone out of touch what writing problems new aspiring writers have.

Practical writing advice books that I can recommend for writing newbies:

"Shut Up and Write the Book: A Step-by-Step Guide to Crafting Your Novel From Plan to Print" by Jenna Moreci (from 2023)

"Structuring Your Novel (Revised & Expanded 2nd Edition): Essential Keys for Writing an Outstanding Story" by K. M. Weiland (2024)

"Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success", also by K. M. Weiland (2013)

[rkmoon]

Hey @rkmoon ! 👋

I feel ya’ there on not wanting to spoil anything from my stories. The struggle is real 😰

So my question is: which stories have you grown to love as of recently? Can you recommend me some of your favorites? ✨

Sorry for answering late! If you're looking for recs: Pandora Hearts is a dark fantasy manga that I love love love love to bits. If you ask me what's the best manga of all time, I will insist that this is it. It's very loosely based off of Alice in Wonderland and the story is dark and deceptive and so so so good!

The Savior's Champion is a novel by Jenna Moreci and it is one of the strongest romances I've read in a while (though that may just be because they actually, you know, became friends before they become lovers). I still can't get Tobias and my big man crush on him out of my mind, even months later.

Gwen and Art are Not in Love made me squeal. It's gays being disaster gays, its found family, its finding the courage to be yourself in a world which prevents you from doing so, it's great!

Magnus Archives is great as well! I've only read the first season though. It's an audio drama, but the sound effects of audio dramas freak me out, so I grabbed an epub of the transcripts from the lovely community and read it instead. :D I'm looking forward to reading season 2.

If you haven't read The Little Prince yet, what are you doing with your life? It's such a quick read and I was left sobbing, crying, thinking about stars and roses-