Hello Fellow Writers!
I'm sure some of you must have some questions that QPK can answer, or at least give you some suggestions about. Questions can really be about anything (writing related) that comes to mind. They can be about your writing, our writing, how our meetings work, and anything else you would like to know. So, ask away! Post your questions in the comments section for this post, and one of us will write a blog post about the topic you're interested in.
-M 

Sometimes, I'm too lazy to think about my novel, let alone write it. It's on these sort of days that I feel much like this:

We writers often complain to our friends, family, and anyone who will listen about the dreaded writer's block. But is it really writer's block we are suffering from? Or is it a case of extreme laziness that is preventing us from working on our novels?
Here's how to tell which writing disease you've caught, and a few tricks to fix it:

Writer's block:
Common symptoms include:
1.You're stuck, you're still writing, but you aren't getting anywhere. Everything you write seems like it's dragging your story down.
2.The inner editor starts to nag. It tells you that everything you're writing is awful and that you better just stop, that this case of writing block is terminal.
3.Your story suddenly seems boring and pointless.
The most important symptom that differentiates writer's block from laziness is that you are still trying to write, or at least sitting at your desk, staring at your computer or the piece of paper in front of you.

Laziness:
1. You don't even attempt to write - you think anything that you write will be awful, so why even try.
2. You go watch T.V., go on Facebook, search funny videos about cats on the internet...anything but write your story.
3. You complain about your novel, but do nothing about it.

Cures:

For Writer's Block:
Take a break - but not one so long that if qualifies as laziness. Try going for a walk, taking a shower, reading, anything that will give you distance from your writing for a little while. Then, go back with an open mind. Don't count out any ideas as "stupid" until you've thought about them fully, or  tried writing them. Most importantly, ignore the inner editor! My last tip to escape from the writer's block prison is to make yourself interested in what you're writing again. Make something crazy happen, try writing a part that happens later in your story but really interests you or try writing from a different  point of view.

For Laziness:
First of all, get to bed on time! Then, get active - go for a walk, a run, a bike ride, play catch, go to the park etc. Make some tea and sit down at the computer. Stop making excuses and tell yourself that you'll write for 15 minutes (or half an hour, or until you've written 500 words).

Hope you get though any blocks you might have with as little trouble as possible!
Happy Writing!
-M

When I was writing the first draft of my novel, I more or less wrote by the seat of my pants - no outline whatsoever. Sure, there were those two scribbled pages with a few character names on them, but that doesn't count for much. I planned from the start that I'd write in whatever direction my story took me, and go back later to fix the plot and characters. It worked fairly well. I finished the draft in exactly a year to the day. It was then that I looked back at my work and said "Goodness gracious I should have mapped this thing out from the start." But it was too late. I'd have to do it the hard way.
          One of the tools I used to get my novel on  the right track was a story map. It would have been great, I realized, to have this from the beginning. I made my story map on a large piece of newsprint. it looked something like a triangle, with a few jagged edges to represent obstacles, with the climax at the triangle's point. Using sticky notes, I wrote out various events that happened in my story, and stuck them to them map in chronological order. Instantly, things became clearer, and  I could see the holes in my story and began to revise accordingly.
    Even if you don't like planning, I strongly suggest using this form of an outline to give you an idea before you write, of the main events that will occur  in your story. 
Have Fun!
-M  
    

In Beatrice Prior's Dystopian city, there are five factions, each strongly believing in a certain character trait - Candor, the honest; Abnegation, the selfless; Erudite, the intelligent, Amity, the peaceful; and Dauntless, the brave. At the age of 16, each person in the city must choose which faction they will become part of, depending on their character, and go through an initiation to become a member of the faction they chose. Before making the choice, they take an aptitude test which deems them suitable for one faction. But what if you are fit for more than one faction - what if you are DIVERGENT.

I really enjoyed reading Divergent by Veronica Roth, and I highly recommend it for teenagers. It is exciting and fast paced, with a bit of romance thrown in, and I read it within two days of buying it. If you are a fan of the Hunger Games, this is a great book to read!