No, not what you’re thinking… this isn’t a lesson on how to plot. This is a musing on how plotting happens. Which means? I was shoveling a foot of snow out of my driveway last Tuesday afternoon and I found myself plotting. I’ve been in a restaurant trying to keep my mind on the conversation…
Category: General Interest
Guest Terry Banker: How to Write a Symple Synopsis
Like the misspelling in the title made you read the next line, a synopsis is a promise that says Trust me, dear reader. If you like my synopsis, you’ll love my novel. Synopsis? Ugh. Don’t worry. You’re not a lone. All writers hate writing a synopsis. To us, it’s impossible to explain 500 pages of…
The Story In My Head
There’s a recent TV commercial that shows people listening to audiobooks, and as they listen, the story comes to life around them. A woman on the beach listens to a science fiction story and her surroundings alter into an inter-planetary landscape. A young man caught up in a historical novel looks up to see his…
A SURPRISING SOURCE OF INSPIRATION YOU MAY NOT HAVE THOUGHT OF
When I define myself, I don’t call myself a writer. I call myself a storyteller (in point of fact I like the term raconteur.) The distinction, to me, is an important one. As a writer, my entire world is the written word, fiction or non-fiction, novel-length or short subject. As a storyteller, I embrace all…
Guest K. Ferrin: The Hardest Thing You’ll Ever Do
I was about nine years old when I wrote my first story. I was very excited about the assignment, I loved writing even then. But what I remember most clearly is the lightning strike of inspiration I got when the story idea popped into my mind. It seemed to come straight out of the aether…