Monday, December 31, 2018
Monday, December 24, 2018
Thursday, December 20, 2018
Plotting Made Easy (or Easier)
If you know nothing else about your story before you begin, these four elements are essential to getting the plot moving:
I can't take credit for this plotting plan--Mary Kittredge wrote about this in an article called "Hot to Plot! A Plotting "System" That Works."
This system isn't the be-all-end-all to writing a book, though.
"Sure, you still need crisp dialogue, vivid descriptions, true-to-life characters, and more--because good writing, too, is a necessary element of interesting, salable fiction. But plot's the engine that revs your story up to racing speed," she says. "Plot keeps readers reading and editors buying; it's the solid technical element on which all your other skills must hang."
So . . . . need/want, strong point, fatal flaw, and story problem.
Do some brainstorming.
Dig deep.
See what you can come up with, then run with it.
Be Brilliant!
~Katie~
A need or want (the bigger the stakes, the more interesting your character will be)
A strong point (i.e. a positive character or personality trait)
A fatal flaw (i.e. a negative trait that could lead to the character's downfall)
A story problem (what the character must overcome to get what they want)
***
I can't take credit for this plotting plan--Mary Kittredge wrote about this in an article called "Hot to Plot! A Plotting "System" That Works."
This system isn't the be-all-end-all to writing a book, though.
"Sure, you still need crisp dialogue, vivid descriptions, true-to-life characters, and more--because good writing, too, is a necessary element of interesting, salable fiction. But plot's the engine that revs your story up to racing speed," she says. "Plot keeps readers reading and editors buying; it's the solid technical element on which all your other skills must hang."
So . . . . need/want, strong point, fatal flaw, and story problem.
Do some brainstorming.
Dig deep.
See what you can come up with, then run with it.
Be Brilliant!
~Katie~
Monday, December 17, 2018
(More on) Resistance
More words of wisdom from Steven Pressfield (The War of Art):
(Capital R) Resistance isn't some force that works outside ourselves. It comes from within.
It doesn't have any strength on its own; we feed it.
We feed it by not doing the work we're called to do because we're afraid of it.
We feed it by putting off the work we're called to do.
The truth?
There is never the perfect moment to start something new or do something different.
It's better to dive in, take it day by day--trust that this is what's best for us--that it will all (somehow) work out in the end.
Push against Resistance with every new sunrise.
Be ruthless in the pursuit of your goals.
And serve as an example while doing it, lighting the way for others.
Be Brilliant!
~Katie~
(Capital R) Resistance isn't some force that works outside ourselves. It comes from within.
It doesn't have any strength on its own; we feed it.
We feed it by not doing the work we're called to do because we're afraid of it.
We feed it by putting off the work we're called to do.
It's okay. I'm going to do it. . . . I'm just going to do it tomorrow.
There is never the perfect moment to start something new or do something different.
It's better to dive in, take it day by day--trust that this is what's best for us--that it will all (somehow) work out in the end.
***
Push against Resistance with every new sunrise.
Be ruthless in the pursuit of your goals.
And serve as an example while doing it, lighting the way for others.
Be Brilliant!
~Katie~
Thursday, December 13, 2018
Ideas vs. Situations
"I want to write a book, but I don't have a good idea."
or the flipside:
"I have a great idea. It needs to be a book."
An idea, however, does not "a story" make.
An idea is a little spark that might set a story in motion, but it's not enough.
What you're really looking for is a situation.
Boy meets girl.
This is an idea.
A German boy falls in love with a Jewish girl in the moments before Hitler's Army comes to town.
This is a situation.
A situation demands the question: "what happens next?"
The idea is where the story starts, but the situation drives the narrative.
When inspiration strikes, make sure it's a situation (or figure out how to turn it into one).
Be Brilliant!
~Katie~
or the flipside:
"I have a great idea. It needs to be a book."
An idea, however, does not "a story" make.
An idea is a little spark that might set a story in motion, but it's not enough.
What you're really looking for is a situation.
Boy meets girl.
This is an idea.
A German boy falls in love with a Jewish girl in the moments before Hitler's Army comes to town.
This is a situation.
A situation demands the question: "what happens next?"
The idea is where the story starts, but the situation drives the narrative.
When inspiration strikes, make sure it's a situation (or figure out how to turn it into one).
Be Brilliant!
~Katie~
Monday, December 10, 2018
What Lights You Up?
In The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, he talks about the two lives we live that are at odds with one another: our real life and the unlived life inside us (the life we WISH we could live).
The line separating the two is (capital R) Resistance.
Resistance is toxic, he says, because it keeps us from growing into the person we're meant to become.
But how do we know who we're supposed to become?
It goes back to determining what makes us light up.
To toss in the cliche: what would you do if you only had six months left to live?
Quit your soul-sucking job? Get those characters that have been swimming around your head for years onto paper? List your crafts and/or art on Etsy? Get your website up and running? Open that store?
If the answer is anything other than what you're doing right now, a serious change (or, at the very least, some serious soul-searching) is in order.
As scary as it sounds, it might be time to break down that wall of Resistance and try something else.
What lights you up, and why aren't you doing it?
Be Brilliant!
~Katie~
The line separating the two is (capital R) Resistance.
Resistance is toxic, he says, because it keeps us from growing into the person we're meant to become.
But how do we know who we're supposed to become?
It goes back to determining what makes us light up.
To toss in the cliche: what would you do if you only had six months left to live?
Quit your soul-sucking job? Get those characters that have been swimming around your head for years onto paper? List your crafts and/or art on Etsy? Get your website up and running? Open that store?
If the answer is anything other than what you're doing right now, a serious change (or, at the very least, some serious soul-searching) is in order.
As scary as it sounds, it might be time to break down that wall of Resistance and try something else.
What lights you up, and why aren't you doing it?
Be Brilliant!
~Katie~
Thursday, December 6, 2018
On Stakes--Writing Tip
Readers want a character with a goal.
A goal they pursue relentlessly.
They don't want a story about a guy who sort of likes a girl. They want a story about a guy who can't live without the girl, even if he doesn't realize it right away.
What's at stake?
What does the hero get when she wins?
What does the hero lose if he fails?
The bigger the stakes, the more satisfying the read.
Be Brilliant!
~Katie~
A goal they pursue relentlessly.
They don't want a story about a guy who sort of likes a girl. They want a story about a guy who can't live without the girl, even if he doesn't realize it right away.
What's at stake?
What does the hero get when she wins?
What does the hero lose if he fails?
The bigger the stakes, the more satisfying the read.
Be Brilliant!
~Katie~
Monday, December 3, 2018
But What Do I Write About?
Write about something you know--some small aspect of your life--a personal experience or a world you're familiar with. Something that requires no research. Forget the facts; tell the story.
Don't worry about being perfect; just make it as good as you can.
Writing a book is hard.
That doesn't mean you're not capable of doing it or shouldn't give it a shot.
It just means that it's hard.
Be Brilliant!
~Katie~
Don't worry about being perfect; just make it as good as you can.
Writing a book is hard.
That doesn't mean you're not capable of doing it or shouldn't give it a shot.
It just means that it's hard.
Be Brilliant!
~Katie~
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)