One of my favorite writers recently attended at a meet-the-agents day in NYC where she pitched her latest writing project to a slew of agents. She returned home with a headache and a long list of interested agents. Now that the excitement and nervous energy is abated, she's left with burn-out and overwhelm.Following is my sympathetic response to her experience....as for your burn-out. I'm not surprised. All that interfacing and the nervous energy from all the writers around you. Congratulations …
Plotting the Climax of Your Story
In the End -- the final 1/4 of the entire page or scene count, the protagonist still has foes to confront and overcome. Only now, she is armed with a new understanding of herself. For the first time, her goal is within reach. The Climax at the end serves as the light at the end of the tunnel. The protagonist moves toward the light -- one step forward toward the ultimate transformation, three steps back, a fight for a couple of steps, being beat backwards. The Climax is the crowning glory of …
Writing Inspiration
Daily, I gain strength from a quote of Goethe's: "What you can do or dream you can, begin itBoldness has genius power and magic in it." He also said, "It is almost impossible in the present day to find a situation which is thoroughly new. Only the matter of looking at it can be new, and the art of treating it and representing it." Your unique voice comes from how you: Look at your storyTreat your storyChoose to represent your story Listen for it. Hone it. Trust the process. …
Creating Curiosity
Writers, especially beginning writers, often find themselves wanting to blurt out everything up front. This often shows up as a flashback early on in the story to show the back story or event that first sent the protagonist off kilter. Don't.....Keep in mind throughout to pace the info you share with the reader. In each scene, only put in as much as is needed to inform that particular scene (this can include foreshadowing clues of what is to come, but don't overload the scenes.) Invite the …
Character Transformation
The moment the protagonist is hit with the decision whether to change or remain the same either comes at the:1/2 way point (based on the page or scene count) or3/4 mark or the Crisis In some stories, the character emotional development plot line (CED) "wake-up call" occurs at the 1/2 way point. In other stories, the CED plot hits simultaneously with the dramatic action (DA) plot line at the 3/4 mark or the Crisis, the moment of greatest energetic impact in the story so far .Either way, after the …
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