Storybuilding 4: Brainstorming – With Character
Continuing our brainstorming fun, pull out your notes from the character post. Character IS Plot, so one of the best ways to get some plotting ideas is to take your characters in hand and put them...
View ArticleStorybuilding 5: Victor’s Letter
I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “Can’t win for losing.” Sometimes, I think the saying should be “Can’t lose for winning.” My name is Victor, and I always win. I’m the victor in everything I do....
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Storybuilding 6: The Hero’s Journey
After all our brainstorming and character building fun, now it’s time to begin adding structure to your story. This is where you weld into place the foundation and girders that will hold up your...
View ArticleStory Building 7: The Block
Are you sick of plotting yet? I certainly am. I’ve almost come to the place where I’m going to start writing, even if I don’t have all the details figured out. I feel stuck, mired in the mud, and I...
View ArticleStory Magic
No matter how many stories I write, I’m always amazed and humbled when the Magic happens. I know it’s there, somewhere, lurking beneath the muddy characterization and swampy plot, but it’s easy to...
View ArticleStorybuilding: Project Management
By day, I’m a computer programmer (although technically I don’t actually “code” much any more — I do the analysis, write up the design, and hand it off to other people to code) and project management...
View ArticlePlotting: An Evolving Process
Since I had the day off from the Evil Day Job yesterday, I set a goal of finishing the plot for Phantom. I’ve been struggling with it, so I decided to try a new approach. My friend Jenna Reynolds had...
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More Plotting Fun
As promised, here’s a little more detail about the plotting wall I did for Phantom. I made it D&E this morning, despite not getting to sleep until after 11 PM again. Sigh. Please don’t ask how...
View ArticleOn Plotting
As I’ve been working on the new PNR idea, I’ve been thinking about my plotting processes and how they’ve evolved over the years. There are so many different ways to think about story structure, from...
View ArticleBack to the Beginning
I’ve gotten lazy… or lucky… with the last few books. When they were ready, they just dumped out of my head without me having to do a lot of plotting. It was all in my head and I just took dictation....
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