Sometimes You Need to Hear It More Than Once

wikipedia

I loved to just sit and write, and let the ideas flow, and come up with lovely descriptions, and think up clever dialogue. Except, the other half of me being a somewhat organized person, I wanted a method to my madness. I noticed an idea kept popping up.

First, Query Tracker & Elana Johnson pointed me to Dan Wells on Story Structure. I have no idea when this happened, but I clung to the information as I learned to write my queries. I thought I was doing OK, story-wise. Hehehe.

Lets just say R stands for rejection, re-evaluation, revision, *redacted*...

April 2011: I picked up Emotional Structure: Creating the Story Beneath the Plot: A Guide for Screenwriters, by Peter Dunne. Still shy of note cards, I began to write the plot points on one side of my outlines, and each scene's emotional impact on the other. *light bulb overhead*

October 2011: A critique partner introduced me to Storyfix.com. (There's also a book: Story Engineering.) I got hooked on writing from a beat sheet. I learned to outline the right way, with specific turning points - like Scene 12 as the First Plot Point. I guess I went a little overboard with the setup on the first time around. *blushes*

November 2011: I developed an addiction to Scrivener storyboarding during NaNoWriMo. I finished the manuscript without a single tangent. *crosses heart* :)

January 2012: I signed up for the April SCBWI Master Class on Plot with Scholastic editor, Cheryl Klein. She sent me homework - Bookmap my entire manuscript, scene by scene. I'm working on it. *kisses Scrivener storyboard*

January 2012: I went to the SCBWI National Conference. Delacorte editor, Wendy Loggia, picks up the gorgeous ARC for Starters - and mentions that the original manuscript was pretty flawless, because the author is a screenwriter. My roommate went to see Cheryl Klein and got a great list of things to do on a revision. *buys Ms. Klein's book: Second Sight*

Think someone is trying to pound this idea into my head? I think I'd better listen.

February2012: My son came home with an essay assignment on Heroes in Hollywood. We find a website about the Monomyth, specifically for screenwriters. There's a youtube clip called Story, Screenplay Law. Law? Yes. Law. *doesn't want to break any laws*

Outlining is the new black, in my house anyway. Just thought I'd share.

Magical Creature Must-Haves

Cover via AmazonI know I hit the jackpot when the eleven-year old boy of the house strokes the cover of a book and asks "Oooo...is this for me?"

Yeah. My Borders find of the weekend: The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures by John and Caitlin Matthews. (On the sale rack for $9.99!)

It's in a perilous place right now. As in, I want to read it and the boy has confiscated it while I wasn't looking. It's OK. While he was at grandma's I quickly read the main passsages I needed. And he has to go to school tomorrow. hehe.

But really, many times I've found myself surfing the net, looking for a creature that does such and such, and wishing I had the Monster Book of Monsters to give me a clue. This is that book!

Unfortunately, there aren't that many creatures from Turkey or the Middle East in the volume. I think part of that problem is that the source material is either a) passed down in rote or b) has never been translated. Still, several entries point me in a promising direction and if I find more info, language isn't going to be a barrier.

BTW, it seems there's been an alignment of the planets in regard to writer's guides this week. I read a great post on The Writer's Guide to Psychology over at Sarah Fine's, and I was researching a semi-precious gem on Holly Ruggiero's Writer's Guide to Crystal and Gemstones. Check them out!