Novel Mentions – nikki diekemper

Good Enough

I think each and every one of us can recall a point in time where we thought we weren’t good enough. Not good enough to win the game, score that job, defend a cause, write a novel, or any dream out there. We’ve probably all said it or thought it at least once in ourContinue reading “Good Enough”

The Life of a Writer

Awesome! I have some free time! I’m going to pump out 30 pages! *Gets distracted by Facebook chime.**Ends up scrolling for ages.* Hm…There’s still time left. I can break out the pensReviewing old scenes will renew my deft. But what now that I’m at the end?Stare at the blank space at the bottom of theContinue reading “The Life of a Writer”

Breaking the News to Your Characters

So, how many of you writers out there like to view your characters as alive in their own right? You know they’re not real, but you still do exercises like having conversations with them to figure out what they like, how they grew up, or you even straight up ask them what they’re going toContinue reading “Breaking the News to Your Characters”

Writing Exercise: I remember…

A couple days ago, I was reading this webpost about advice from famous authors. I never got to finish it and I can’t find it back–you see, I was trying to read it and work with dogs at the same time and we all know that’s never successful. I ended up losing the article fromContinue reading “Writing Exercise: I remember…”

Character Interviews

Part of being a writer is crafting characters. It’s one of my favorite parts of story building. As a fiction fantasy writer, you can get away with most anything as long you can find a way to make it make sense. You could build a character who’s knowledgeable beyond their years. Or a character whoContinue reading “Character Interviews”

The Weight of Patience

Last week, I met with a friend of mine who I asked to take a look at my novel. Her dream job is to become an editor for fantasy books, so naturally, she’s gonna be someone with eyes for the page. Not to mention, she reads a lot, so she knows the market better thanContinue reading “The Weight of Patience”

How’s the New Year?

I know. We’re nearing the end of June. Which means that 2021 isn’t exactly new anymore. For A LOT of us, 2021 is going twenty times better than 2020. I mean, this time last year, I was working part time at the library with the overcast of knowing the job I scored at the zooContinue reading “How’s the New Year?”

A Collection of Words

Little book of words brand new.Little words to know.Teach me something fresh like dew.Help me learn and grow. Everyone tries to expand their knowledge. Some people like to learn something new every day. If you’re a writer, you tend to do a lot of research of various topics to help you make your book moreContinue reading “A Collection of Words”

I Gotta Tell You about Saturn!

Lately, I’ve been working on a sci/fi story and it’s set in our Solar System years into the future. Well, I’m having to do a lot of research about space to write this novel and I wanted to share some of the things I’ve learned. Some things in the novel I’m going probably going toContinue reading “I Gotta Tell You about Saturn!”

One Word

Why is it that one word from even a complete stranger has the power to ruin your whole day? I participated in #SFFpit. For those of you who don’t know what it is: it’s a Twitter event where wannabe authors can pitch their novel to agents. It’s a little bit of a desperate shout intoContinue reading “One Word”