I recently received the following query. Any of you have anything to suggest???Question:I really enjoyed the workshop and have gotten so much out of it. I will definitely be contacting you for future plot consultations.I really want to break through my emotional walls in order to take my writing to the next level. Do you have any recommendations for books that may help with this? I have been looking at Julia Cameron and Eric Maisel. There are so many books on this topic that I wondered if you …
WRITING THE CRISIS
At the writers conference this past weekend, I asked an audience of writer which of them knew the Crisis of their story. I had been talking about the three important scenes -- one each in the: Beginning (1/4) -- End of the BeginningMiddle (1/2) -- CrisisEnd (1/4) -- ClimaxWe had reached the Middle section and after I discussed the parameters of the Crisis, I asked for a show of hands. Barely a smattering. Surprised, I reworded my question. Still just a few.I asked if they were worried about …
PREPARING FOR A CONFERENCE
Tomorrow begins the East of Eden Writers' Conference. Steinbeck Country is difficult to describe to anyone without some first hand experience in dry, dusty heat, yellow hills and giant oak trees, hawks and buzzards, cows and sheep. The road trip runs through dirt so rich it's called black gold. Men and women bend in the hot sun to pick strawberries.250 anxious, eager, inspired, tortured writers will be on hand at the conference -- energy galore. For me, the excitement is teaching writers plot …
Blogging and the Muse
A writer recently left the following message:"Sometimes when I'm writing I feel like someone else is in my head writing it for me. Weird when the characters take over but not uncommon apparently. This doesn't happen when blog writing by the way."I surmise it is the muse in the form of the characters that is taking over. Somehow, this writer is able to surrender his/her ego (what some call the critic) long enough for the creative force to work through him/her when writing fiction. I find it …
Villains
I respond to the first query about villains with intrigue. I teach writers to use as many antagonists as needed to create conflict and excitement on the page. I seldom concentrate on the archetype of the villain. The antagonists I focus on are the seven internal antagonists that plague our characters (as well as ourselves). There are also seven external antagonists. I generally address only dictionary definition #3 of villain: a character in a story or play who opposes the hero.My intrigue …
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