Thanks to my mom, I have a new understanding of the plot work I do with writers. Leave it to my mother to be the one to teach me.In February, during a lull in preparing for 2 giant birthdays in one -- my mother's 90th and my sister's 60th, I made the Beginning section of a Plot Planner for my mother's blog.Never did I know how much angst that 8 X 11 piece of paper with a simple line and some sticky notes could cause.Rather than write the scenes she had come up with, my mother left the Plot …
Stamina for Writers
Received the following from a writer I'm working with:"Through our time together, I've come to realize that writing is all about stamina!! I had NO idea how much THINKING and CONNECTING goes into a story. I've done technical writing/reports/research for years but none compares with the effort necessary to craft a story. Novel writing is also much more intriguing and fulfilling." The writer is crafting a complicated murder mystery with many suspects, thus all the "thinking" and "connecting" he …
Shift from Wantabe to Writer
Comment from a writer I'm working with that shifted the same writer from resistance and excuses to consistent, daily writing and led to this post: "My identity is not wrapped up in the book. I am just the writer."This is big. From my work with writers, I've seen that the more invested the writer in the end result = creating the great American novel that will give them status and awards and attention and respect or, in other words, self-enhancement, are the writers who struggle the most and take …
Plot Your Writing Schedule
1) Give yourself a deadline for your writing project where ever you are in your writing life right now today:Finish the first draftWrite the final draftSubmitting the completed manuscript2) Mark a big red X on your deadline day and write in your concrete long-term goal. Example: by June 1st, I hold in my hands the completed first draft of my manuscript (NOTE: best if written in present tense. The mystics say time is non-linear. If that's true, it means your goal has already been accomplished and …
How Many Plot-lines Does Your Story Have?
After nearly 10 years of providing Plot Consultations to writers all over the world, I have come to appreciate the varied ways writers approach the writing process and write. Last week and this, I have had the honor of working with a writer with a unique approach.He has at least five plot lines going on (nothing unusual there):Character Emotional Development = innerDramatic Action = murder mystery = outerThematic SignificanceOrphan storyRomance I first consulted with this writer nearly a year …
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