A Long-Overdue Update!
Just in case you think that I've been ignoring my website (maybe!) and sitting around and doing nothing (never!), I thought I'd pop over here to my Weebly website and slip in a quick update.
For most of the past two years I have been working feverishly on learning the nuanced elements of story structure. I have accumulated nearly twenty three-ring binders full of notes and print-outs detailing numerous aspect of the story-writing process. My Kindle is full of writing craft books including ones by K.M. Weiland (my favorite story structure instructor and author of phenomenal books like "The Secrets of Story Structure" and "Creating Character Arcs"), C.S. Lakin (an incredible story structure mentor who has written excellent books such as "The 12 Key Pillars of Novel Construction" and "The 12 Fatal Flaws of Fiction Writing" and who is the professional editor I have chosen to help me do this correctly), John Truby ("The Anatomy of Story"), Christopher Downing ("Fool Proof Outline"), Jordan Smith ("Finding the Core of Your Story"), and Jeff Goins ("You Are a Writer") - among others. I have listened to multiplied hours of story-structure podcasts (mostly K.M.'s "Helping Writers Become Authors") and YouTube tutorials by editors and authors such as Ellen Brock and Vivien Reis. I've gobbled up a number of Michael Hague's story structure nuggets. I've studied (and devoured!) Christopher Vogler's "The Writer's Journey," Syd Field's "Screenplay," and Blake Snyder's "Save The Cat." I've watched TED lectures by representatives from Disney and Pixar. I've dissected at least three times - while taking copious notes - all ten 0f Bloop Animation's "Pixar's Storytelling Rules" (A must see!!). I've listened to a challenging writing lecture by Stephen King and I've heard interviews of countless other authors on The Creative Penn podcasts. I've marveled at the genius of J.K. Rowling. I've revisited my childhood favorite "The Wizard of Oz" and dusted off my "Chronicles of Narnia" book series (for writing/research purposes) and looked with renewed awe at my 3-book set of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. (I also have "The Hobbit.") I could go on.
Needless to say, I've not been resting on my laurels!
But "What about your own book series?" you may ask. Well, that's what I want to tell you about! An exercise in K.M.'s "Outlining Your Novel Workbook" (which I am enjoying using) asked me to answer this question: "Why would you love reading this story?" It is a prompt helping me to set a target description for my story that I would gladly devote the next couple of years trying to achieve.
Here's what I answered:
This book is an exciting journey into an imaginary miniature world seldom experienced by readers. It is full of incredibly-relatable insects, reptiles, and small meadow creatures. They live in close (but mostly invisible) proximity to their human counterparts and struggle with similar problems. The hero of the story, Mico - a bullied but incredibly determined lightning bug, faces problems with which we can all identify. And to top it off, the fate of the entire world rests on his tiny shoulders! So, we find ourselves enthusiastically cheering on Mico - for our own posterity's sake!
I've asked God for wisdom and guidance and I have dedicated this entire project to Him. I hope that I don't embarrass Him!
I hope this little teaser whets your appetite for my book. It is the first one in a four-part children's adventure series. (I am working on the following three books simultaneously with the interconnected story of this first one.) Please check back in a little while and see how I'm doing with it. And any words of encouragement or interest would be greatly appreciated and incredibly motivating. Just sayin'!!
Till next time!
For most of the past two years I have been working feverishly on learning the nuanced elements of story structure. I have accumulated nearly twenty three-ring binders full of notes and print-outs detailing numerous aspect of the story-writing process. My Kindle is full of writing craft books including ones by K.M. Weiland (my favorite story structure instructor and author of phenomenal books like "The Secrets of Story Structure" and "Creating Character Arcs"), C.S. Lakin (an incredible story structure mentor who has written excellent books such as "The 12 Key Pillars of Novel Construction" and "The 12 Fatal Flaws of Fiction Writing" and who is the professional editor I have chosen to help me do this correctly), John Truby ("The Anatomy of Story"), Christopher Downing ("Fool Proof Outline"), Jordan Smith ("Finding the Core of Your Story"), and Jeff Goins ("You Are a Writer") - among others. I have listened to multiplied hours of story-structure podcasts (mostly K.M.'s "Helping Writers Become Authors") and YouTube tutorials by editors and authors such as Ellen Brock and Vivien Reis. I've gobbled up a number of Michael Hague's story structure nuggets. I've studied (and devoured!) Christopher Vogler's "The Writer's Journey," Syd Field's "Screenplay," and Blake Snyder's "Save The Cat." I've watched TED lectures by representatives from Disney and Pixar. I've dissected at least three times - while taking copious notes - all ten 0f Bloop Animation's "Pixar's Storytelling Rules" (A must see!!). I've listened to a challenging writing lecture by Stephen King and I've heard interviews of countless other authors on The Creative Penn podcasts. I've marveled at the genius of J.K. Rowling. I've revisited my childhood favorite "The Wizard of Oz" and dusted off my "Chronicles of Narnia" book series (for writing/research purposes) and looked with renewed awe at my 3-book set of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. (I also have "The Hobbit.") I could go on.
Needless to say, I've not been resting on my laurels!
But "What about your own book series?" you may ask. Well, that's what I want to tell you about! An exercise in K.M.'s "Outlining Your Novel Workbook" (which I am enjoying using) asked me to answer this question: "Why would you love reading this story?" It is a prompt helping me to set a target description for my story that I would gladly devote the next couple of years trying to achieve.
Here's what I answered:
This book is an exciting journey into an imaginary miniature world seldom experienced by readers. It is full of incredibly-relatable insects, reptiles, and small meadow creatures. They live in close (but mostly invisible) proximity to their human counterparts and struggle with similar problems. The hero of the story, Mico - a bullied but incredibly determined lightning bug, faces problems with which we can all identify. And to top it off, the fate of the entire world rests on his tiny shoulders! So, we find ourselves enthusiastically cheering on Mico - for our own posterity's sake!
I've asked God for wisdom and guidance and I have dedicated this entire project to Him. I hope that I don't embarrass Him!
I hope this little teaser whets your appetite for my book. It is the first one in a four-part children's adventure series. (I am working on the following three books simultaneously with the interconnected story of this first one.) Please check back in a little while and see how I'm doing with it. And any words of encouragement or interest would be greatly appreciated and incredibly motivating. Just sayin'!!
Till next time!
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