SAVE THE CAT!

I LOVE this title!

Helen Hemphill stated in her Nashville workshop this past weekend that studying screenwriting was one of the most constructive things she's done to learn about the craft of writing. She recommended reading SAVE THE CAT! The Last Book On Screenwriting That You'll Ever Need, by Blake Snyder. I've taken her advice to heart. My copy came in the mail today!

As I peruse the Table of Contents, the first thing that catches my attention is the title of chapter one: WHAT IS IT? It gives a short description: "The importance of 'the idea' - What is a 'logline' and what are the four requirements to creating a better one? - What is 'high concept' and why is it still relevant? - Test pitching your movie for fun and profit - Plus five games to jump-start your idea-creating skills." If I can come away with a better understanding of how to write my logline, the book purchase is justified.

One more resource before I sign off for the night. Check out the Tennessee Screen Writing Association website. Click on "Writer's Tips" on the toolbar at the top of the page. There are all kinds of worksheets to help you plot the perfect novel.

Keep Writing!

"Plotting the Novel" - Workshop with Helen Hemphill

I attended a fabulous workshop this weekend in Nashville titled “Plotting the Novel,” sponsored by the SCBWI-Midsouth group. The speaker was Helen Hemphill, author of three award-winning books published by Front Street and edited by Stephen Roxburgh: The Adventurous Deeds of Deadwood Jones, Runaround, and Long Gone Daddy.

Helen is an excellent presenter. She divided her workshop into sections – 1) Premise, loglines, opening lines and opening page, 2) Defining the protagonist/antagonist, sequence of story, self-realization and theme. After each section we were given writing assignments that we later shared with the group.

I am not a trained writer, no MFA in literature or such, so I am always looking for workshops or seminars on the craft of writing. I find the interactive workshop very helpful. Helen discussed specifics, gave examples, and required us to apply what we learned immediately to our own work in progress. If you have the opportunity to hear Helen – go. If you would like to schedule her as a presenter for your school, writer’s group, or other group, you can contact her through her website listed above.

Lunch was also informative. One of the questions that came up at my table was, “How do you find your writing topics?” Several people said they peruse newspapers and magazine articles –old and new, for interesting stories. They find an obscure or strange aspect to the story and run with it. Others brainstormed fun titles first, or played 20 questions with a character. My first novel just “came” to me. I free wrote for several days before I decided I should probably have a plan. Like I said – not a trained writer. This time around I’m plotting first. I have a premise and logline, character sketches and an outline. Now I need to do a bit of research and begin writing.

How do you generate topics for your books?

It's Official - I'm a Trenchie!

Yes, I have now officially jumped into the submission trench! It's a bit scary - looks somewhat murky in here, and I like to see where I'm going. I'm patient (mostly), but I hope I'm not one who has to wait for years or forever to become published. I plan to take the advice of my fellow Blueboarders - submit and move on to the next project. Wish me luck!!

Lemonade Stand Award

Rena has awarded me the Lemonade Stand Award for great Gratitude and/or Attitude. Wow - Thanks Rena! To accept the award I must follow these rules:

1. Post the logo on my blog.
2. Nominate 10 blogs with great gratitude/attitude.
3. List and link my nominees.
4. Alert them of their nomination on their blog.

This is hard! There are so many good blogs to read. I enjoy reading about your thoughts on literature and writing, your adventures, and family. It's tough to narrow just to 10. Here goes:

1. Mary Whitsell
2. PJ Hoover
3. Chocolateer
4. Lady Glamis
5. Brenda
6. Ann Spollen
7. Christy
8. Green Girl
9. Linda D
10. Cinda

I am now on spring break. Woo hoooooo!!!!

Crazy Week...

Writing and blogging took a back seat this week. It was a tough one. I lost a dear friend to pancreatic cancer on Tuesday. She was also one of my choir members. She will definitely be missed. Friday, my son was in an accident. Both he and the other driver are okay, but both cars were totaled. It's the stuff of parental nightmares...

On the writing front - I'm heading to Nashville April 24th for the SCBWI-Midsouth Plotting Workshop. I'm making it a personal retreat weekend with designated writing assignments while I'm there. I'm pumped!

No Time to Blog...

No time to blog today. I'm buried in a REALLY good book! The City of Glass, by Cassandra Clare. Next up: The Forest of Hands and Teeth, by Carrie Ryan.

Yes, I know I'm supposed to be writing, but it's Saturday...

The Joy of Plotting

I love to plot.

There's nothing quite like a good puzzle, and plotting a novel certainly fits into that category. I keep notes on foreshadowing, conversations, events, character quirks, and setting descriptions. I triple check every detail to be sure each is attended to and resolved. I find that I like to write the first couple of chapters, and then I go straight to the end. It helps me not to wander if I know my destination. All I have to do is connect the dots, right?

Maybe... Just like any connect-the-dots puzzle, the more dots there are to connect the sharper the picture. I like to use a loose framework to plan. The details come as I write. Helene Boudreau posted this structure on her blog. It's simple, and it works well for me.

Inciting incident (The big problem)

Plot Point 1 (first obstacle)

Plot Point 2 (second obstacle)

Plot Point 3 (third obstacle-situation is about as bad as it can get)

Climax A (lighting the fuse)

Climax B (watching it burn)

Climax C (kaboom!)

Denouement

Resolution

Another good source for understanding how to build specific plots is 20 Master Plots -and how to build them, by Karen S. Wiesner. I refer to this book each time I start a new project - my own little refresher course!

What plotting strategies and resources do you use?