May Check In!

Log your week's progress every Saturday, midnight EST

Leaderboards will be posted on Monday!

	Drafting Ninjas check in here! Once you've signed in, fill out the form provided and add your goals. Then check in often to log your training efforts. Each Monday we'll list the leaders from the previous week!
	Revising Ninjas check in here! Once you've signed in, fill out the form provided and add your goals. Then check in often to log your training efforts. Each Monday we'll list the leaders from the previous week!
	Querying Ninjas check in here! Once you've signed in, fill out the form provided and add your goals. Then check in often to log your training efforts. Each Monday we'll list the leaders from the previous week!
	Publishing Ninjas check in here! Once you've signed in, fill out the form provided and add your goals. Then check in often to log your training efforts.  Each Monday we'll list the leaders from the previous week!

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Did you meet your April goals?

Then YOU are a Writing Ninja WARRIOR!
Wear your badge with pride!

April NiNoWriMo Check In!

Log your week's progress every Saturday, midnight EST

Leaderboards will be posted on Monday!

	Drafting Ninjas check in here! Once you've signed in, fill out the form provided and add your goals. Then check in often to log your training efforts. Each Monday we'll list the leaders from the previous week!
	Revising Ninjas check in here! Once you've signed in, fill out the form provided and add your goals. Then check in often to log your training efforts. Each Monday we'll list the leaders from the previous week!
	Querying Ninjas check in here! Once you've signed in, fill out the form provided and add your goals. Then check in often to log your training efforts. Each Monday we'll list the leaders from the previous week!
	Publishing Ninjas check in here! Once you've signed in, fill out the form provided and add your goals. Then check in often to log your training efforts.  Each Monday we'll list the leaders from the previous week!

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Did you meet your February goals?

Then YOU are a Writing Ninja WARRIOR!
Wear your badge with pride!

Let the Fun Begin! February Ninjas: Check In!

Are you training to be the Writing Ninja Warrior for February? Then let's get you checked in and ready to win!

Log your week's progress every Saturday, midnight EST

Leaderboards will be posted on Monday!

	Drafting Ninjas check in here! Once you've signed in, fill out the form provided and add your goals. Then check in often to log your training efforts. Each Monday we'll list the leaders from the previous week!
	Revising Ninjas check in here! Once you've signed in, fill out the form provided and add your goals. Then check in often to log your training efforts. Each Monday we'll list the leaders from the previous week!
	Querying Ninjas check in here! Once you've signed in, fill out the form provided and add your goals. Then check in often to log your training efforts. Each Monday we'll list the leaders from the previous week!

Poll: Should we have a Publishing training room? For those writing ninjas who are self-publishing? Not sure how (or what) we would track, but is it even something that interests you? Let us know in the comments!

February NiNoWriMo

Are you drafting this month? Dedicated to laying down a thousand words a day, or two thousand per week? Whatever your drafting goals, the dojo is here to offer you encouragement and support.

Sign up on the link list below, then check back often to record your progress. You'll be able to see how you compare to others training with you, and if you meet your goals, you'll earn the coveted Writing Ninja Warrior badge! We know you want it, so come on and start training!

THE BASICS:

• The dojo pays homage to NaNo WriMo all year long. Wish you could keep that comraderie and focus throughout the year? The dojo's your place.
• NiNo = Ninja Novel
• WriMo = writing month 
• ReMo = revising month
• QuMo = querying month
• Each month, join the training room you'll be working in (or all three if you're extra busy!)
• We are on Twitter! #writingninja #ninjachat, #ninowrimo, #ninoremo, #ninoqumo

TABS:

At the top of this page you'll see a number of tabs, all designed to help you get the information you're after:

• Join The Dojo gives you the skinny on what we're all about.
• Ranks & Badges helps you pinpoint where you are in your writing journey, and to show it off!

CHATS:

It's good to be accountable and to connect with other writers. That's where #ninjachats come in. We meet every Thursday, here at the dojo, at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

WRITE-INS:

From time to time we'll have live write-ins, hosted on Google+. Join the dojo there so you won't miss out on one of these fun events!

CHECK IN: Every Friday log your weekly word count. The top five will be listed the following Monday.

Leaderboard for week ending 2.23.13

Here are the top five WriMo ninjas and their awesome word counts.

Hop on over to their blogs and give them some ninja love!

1.	Shelly Arkon	http://secondhandshoesnovel.blogspot.com/	-	41,901
2.	Nancy LaRonda Johnson	http://nancylarondajohnson.blogspot.com	-	21843
3.	Shalena @ Writer Quirk	http://writerquirk.blogspot.com	-	9228
4.	Tonja	http://tonjasmusings.gmail.com	-	4170
5.	Sarah Chafin	http://simplysarahsblog.blogspot.com/	-	4083

QUESTIONS?

Leave them here and we'll get them answered! Hope you decide to join us ~ it's so much more fun to query with friends!

NOW GRAB YOUR BADGE & LET'S GET WRITING!

February NiNoReMo

Ah, revising. You either love it or hate it or love to hate it. Either way, it must be done! And the dojo is here to help.

We recommend this article by author LM Preston for a list of (free) online editing tools.

Regardless of how good the tools are, or whether you love editing, we know you're going to need some friends to cheer you on, and that's where we come in!

Sign up with the link list below, then check back often to record your progress. Meet your goal and you'll win the coveted Writing Ninja Warrior badge!
THE BASICS:

• The dojo pays homage to NaNo WriMo all year long. Wish you could keep that comraderie and focus throughout the year? The dojo's your place.
• NiNo = Ninja Novel
• WriMo = writing month 
• ReMo = revising month
• QuMo = querying month
• Each month, join the training room you'll be working in (or all three if you're extra busy!)
• We are on Twitter! #writingninja #ninjachat, #ninowrimo, #ninoremo, #ninoqumo

TABS:

At the top of this page you'll see a number of tabs, all designed to help you get the information you're after:

• Join The Dojo gives you the skinny on what we're all about.
• Ranks & Badges helps you pinpoint where you are in your writing journey, and to show it off!

CHATS:

It's good to be accountable and to connect with other writers. That's where #ninjachats come in. We meet every Thursday, here at the dojo, at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

WRITE-INS:

From time to time we'll have live write-ins, hosted on Google+. Join the dojo there so you won't miss out on one of these fun events!

CHECK IN: Every Friday but no later than midnight EST Saturday, log your Revised Page count. The following Monday the top five will be posted.

Leaderboard for week ending 2.23.13

Here are the ReMo Leaders for the week with the awesome pages they revised!

Hop on over to their blogs and give them some ninja love.

1. Diane Riggins http://www.a-creative-mind.com - 110 2. Amy McBay www.amymcbay.com - 20 3. Kathleen Doyle writingreadingandlife.com - 15 4. Fida I fida-islaih.blogspot.com - 5

QUESTIONS?
Leave them here and we'll get them answered! Hope you decide to join us ~ it's so much more fun to query with friends!

NOW GRAB YOUR BADGE & LET'S GET REVISING!

February NiNoQuMo

Are you querying? Getting ready to query? We highly recommend QueryTracker.net for discovering agents and tracking your submissions, but we are here to help you stay accountable to your goals.

Join the link list here, then report your progress each week and see how you do compared to other Querying Ninjas. Each month we'll award the coveted Writing Ninja Warrior badge to all ninjas who meet their goals ~ will you be one of them?

THE BASICS:

• The dojo pays homage to NaNo WriMo all year long. Wish you could keep that comraderie and focus throughout the year? The dojo's your place.
• NiNo = Ninja Novel
• WriMo = writing month 
• ReMo = revising month
• QuMo = querying month
• Each month, join the training room you'll be working in (or all three if you're extra busy!)
• We are on Twitter! #writingninja #ninjachat, #ninowrimo, #ninoremo, #ninoqumo

TABS:

At the top of this page you'll see a number of tabs, all designed to help you get the information you're after:

• Join The Dojo gives you the skinny on what we're all about.
• Ranks & Badges helps you pinpoint where you are in your writing journey, and to show it off!

CHATS:

It's good to be accountable and to connect with other writers. That's where #ninjachats come in. We meet every Thursday, here at the dojo, at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

WRITE-INS:

From time to time we'll have live write-ins, hosted on Google+. Join the dojo there so you won't miss out on one of these fun events!

CHECK IN: Every Friday log the number of Queries you sent out that week. The following Monday the top five will be posted.

Leaderboard for week ending 2.09.13

~ no entries at this time ~

QUESTIONS?
Leave them here and we'll get them answered! Hope you decide to join us ~ it's so much more fun to query with friends!

NOW GRAB YOUR BADGE AND LET'S GET QUERYING!

Welcome to the New Writer's Dojo!

The Writer's Dojo is returning to its roots and invites you to join in on the fun! 

When I first started the writer's dojo in 2008, she did it as a way to keep the glory of National Novel Writing Month alive all year long. I loved the camaraderie and support I received during the month of November and desired that same feeling of community every month of the year, in every aspect of writing--not just the drafting.

Beginning February 1st, 2013, the writer's dojo returns to its roots and ushers in a new age of ninjawesomeness. Each month we will open three training rooms at the writer's dojo website. A room for drafters (Writing Month, aka WriMo), a room for revisers (Revising Month, aka ReMo) and a room for those querying (Querying Month, aka QuMo).

We invite you to set your own goals, whether it's to write a thousand words a day, revise ten pages a week, or submit twenty queries in a month, and register your goal in the appropriate training room.

Every Monday we'll post the leaderboard for the previous week, and at the end of each month those who met their goal will be able to post the coveted Writing Ninja Warrior badge on their blog or website.

To help you reach your goals, we have a number of ways to support you:

CHATS: At the dojo every Thursday at 4:00 p.m. Eastern time.

TWITTER: Anytime, day or night, at #writingninja.

GOOGLE+: Join our community for random write-ins and sprints.

NEWSLETTER: Subscribe to our Ninja News and once a month you'll receive an email with an encouraging note and a list of the top performers for the previous month. There will also be opportunities for giveaways, starting with February's newsletter!

We hope to see you at the dojo as you reach for--and achieve--your goals!

A New Year and a New Direction for the Dojo!

I have been an absentee sensei lately--and that's not exactly how you run a dojo! Master Vincent is at our karate dojo every day! He is an inspiration to me, but inspiration here at the dojo has been a little thin lately.

The dojo instructors have been AMAZING!!!

They have kept the shop running while I was fiddle-farting my way through a personal crisis of lame proportions. As in, nothing of great import just one of those #fail times, ya know?

Anyway, the instructors and I had a heart to heart. Amy and Kathleen got me back on my feet and as a result have breathed new life into the dojo. We have a plan for the future, ninjas!

So we'll be kind of quiet around here for a couple weeks, but will have our grand re-opening later this month. In the meantime, sign up for our brand new newsletter--we promise not to spam you! But with our newsletter you'll to stay up to date with what's coming up. (And you never know--there might be prizes involved!)

Sign up for the newsletter here, and stay tuned for the big ol' announcement in a couple weeks!

Ninja New Year

Happy New Year, Ninjas!!

Did you all have a nice holiday season? Things around here were slow as we took a break from blogging here at the Dojo to enjoy time with our families and friends.

I've often talked about writing and various things you can do to help your productivity, but I don't often talk about reading. If you're a writer, you HAVE to read, especially within the genre or genres you write. So, I want to take this time and ask you...

What did you read during the holidays?

Kathleen Doyle

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Google+

I'm a super ninja secret agent. I travel the world defeating nefarious characters and their evil plots, and I look damn good doing it. I live the dream!

Oh, wait. That was a dream. I'm actually a reader, a writer, and a mother (not necessarily in that order) and I love the chaos that is my life. =)

Plot Devices: Dreams and Dream Sequences

We've all encountered this particular plot device before. Perhaps the most famous example would be "Dallas" where they wiped an entire season by making it a dream.

Does it work? In that case, yes, because back then it probably felt a lot more fresh than it does now.

Another famous example? The ending of "Newhart" when Bob Newhart turns on the light at the end of the series finale to be on the set of his previous show "The Bob Newhart Show" with his tv wife from that show.

Does it work? In that case, yes, because it had a huge payoff for his devoted fans and sent the silly show out with a bang.

A more recent example is one of those cheesy, made-for-TV holiday movies. This particular one featured an MC who claimed to have the perfect life save for the perfect man. When she falls on her way to work and is rescued by prince charming, the perfect man, things start to spiral. All the while she is with the perfect man she is falling for the truly perfect man she works with.

But then the catch comes. When she falls again later, she wakes up in teh hospital to be told she's been there unconscious for two days.

Yes, two days. Which means the bulk of the movie was fake.

All that character development, all the little things between the OTP (one true pairing) that lead to love, all the best writing of the movie, never happened.

Does it work? In this case, no. None of that's real. Yes, it's a movie, but the point of it is that the changes she underwent were all created in her head.

Dreams can work. So can dream sequences. Dreams can really help us get inside our MC's heads and show the reader how the events of the book are impacting the MC in ways they don't quite realize.

I once wrote a book where the MC has two lives, separate and under different names. She meets two different men in one life, both of whom she ends up dating, and has a friend in her other life who is in love with her. After a trip to Hawaii she dreams she's back on the beach. Each boy shows up in succession in the dream and the weather and atmosphere around them changes each time, growing stormier and stormier. Dreams can highlight what the subconscious is doing to process events and even the feelings and emotions the character is ignoring or not even seeing.

What do you think? Can you think of dream sequences or dreams in books that work? Ones that don't work?

Stephanie McGee

Site | Twitter | Goodreads |Pinterest

I'm a ninja writer, lover of horses, dogs, and otters. Really, I'd own an otter if it were legal. In lieu of that, I've   settled for a Zuni fetish of an otter, which represents joy. I love science fiction and fantasy, but don't ask me to write the former. I don't really care about the technical aspects. I just like a good story.

My writings are mostly YA fantasy. I'm inspired and informed by J.R.R. Tolkien, Tamora Pierce, David Eddings, the Brothers Grimm, and Hans Christian Andersen.