Anxious to leave a legacy, more and more baby boomers are turning to writing their memoirs or the next Great American Novel. For some, the story reveals itself effortlessly. Others have difficulty raising the veil for clarity. In the second case, I often find the problem lies in having lived a vast and rich life. What to put in and what to leave out becomes the dilemma.In order to bring a story to fullness, a writer searches for the underlying sttucture that will best demonstrate some sort of …
One Plot Strand Stronger than Another
As an addendum to Plot or No Plot, I'd like to clarify the Plotless...When I say literary novels are plotless, what I mean is that the Character Emotional Development plot-line is at the fore and drives the story. Dramatic Action is present, though generally as a prop more than a plot. Thematic Significance makes the entire story worth reading. And... the Universal Story Form is always flawlessly present. …
Plot or No Plot
I recently perused the stacks for reading material with several writer friends. One of them picked up a book and exclaimed, "Does it have a plot? I'm not reading one more book without a plot!"When I first started teaching plot to writers more than six years ago and then writing about plot extensively, plot was little talked about. I remember searching for plot in the index of several of the most popular writing books at the time and only one had even a page dedicated to the subject. Now, the …
Thematic Significance of Your Story
Question:..as I'm in this second rewrite deep...I'm losing track of my big idea--what's the biggest problem that I should keep in mind as I'm moving ahead? I think it's to get closer to the character, with every action meaning something, showing...the theme will arise out of all that as the plot is well defined at this point...right?Answer:Support surrounds you and your story always. What a leap of faith, of bravery... I'm so proud of you!!!Q: what's the biggest problem that I should keep in …
Plot for Murder Mystery Writers
Two male writers, both writing murder mysteries -- one for the adult market, the other targeted for urban middle-grade boys.In reading the two character profiles I was sent before the plot consultation, I quickly ascertained their writing preferences. The adult writer had complex goals plotted out for his characters with spotty character traits. The middle-grade writer had well-thought out character traits for the protagonist AND the major secondary characters, too, and the character goals had …
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