Class is dismissed and more congrats!

September is over, which means so is my class, Margie Lawson's Story Structure Safari.

Story structure can be daunting to map out. Maybe because I'm more of a visual learner, maybe because it's a little too much like math (and I have a math phobia) or maybe geometry?

But the Story Structure Safari class was very helpful, and included a few worksheets for mapping out story and character, so I'll use those for new stories.

If you Google "story structure worksheets" you can find plenty available online. Jami Gold has some good ones. Larry Brooks always has excellent pointers, and Jeremy Brown offers printable worksheets based on Brooks' advice. Blake Snyder offers tools for his Save the Cat system.

I had bought Larry Brooks' Story Engineering awhile back, and am about one third through that. Plus, I recently picked up Les Edgerton's Hooked, which focuses on grabbing readers and not letting them go.

As always, learning never stops. There's always room for improvement, so it's a lifelong journey.

It's tough to squeeze it in between life and writing and all the rest. But as Amelia Earhart says, "The more one does, the more one can do."

That's such a fantastic picture of her, isn't it? Supposedly a self-portrait. I see such determination in her eyes. And a bit of a challenge. She never let the impossible stand in her way.

We shouldn't, either.

Congrats to two more winners!

For the Sunset on Summer Fun blog hop, Nay Nay won my giveaway of the ebook of Cinderella Dreams

For Banned Books Week, the print copy of Kite Runner is on its merry way to Bronwyn Haynes



Happy reading! And thanks for visiting my blog.

Back to school

It's not just the kids who are headed back to school this year. In September, I am too. I signed up for Margie Lawson's Story Structure Safari workshop, and I can't wait to hit the books.

Actually I've been doing some advance study. On the advice of a very good author, I bought Dara Marks' Inside Story: The Power of the Transformational Arc. Though aimed at screenwriters, its concepts are great for novelists too. I've never read a better explanation of how theme is tied to plot. Using detailed analyses of several movies, she breaks each down step by step. If you don't send for the book, you should at least explore Ms. Marks' web site.

Her Engaging the Feminine Heroic workshop looked amazing to me when I first read about it, but this year's was only in California. Not doable. While writing this post, I noticed she had a 2014 workshop in Maryland, only a few hours from me. So I signed up! I am so excited! It's an intense, four-day writing workshop. I can't even tell you how much I can't wait to go.

If you're wondering, 'but she's published, why not just write more stories'?

Many reasons.

First, I'm never satisfied. I love the stories I write, and I pour my heart and soul into them. I don't want to follow any formula, but there is always more to learn.

I want to grow and improve. I need this kind of a boost.

I haven't been to a conference in a few years. I love them. I love hanging out with other writers, talking about stories. No one understands a writer like another writer. I was thinking of going to another conference next year, but when I saw Dara Marks', it trumped everything else. It will be intense. Hopefully it will help me break through to the next level.

That's always the goal - onward and upward. :)

I'm more excited than a kid at Christmas! Probably because this will likely encompass my Christmas, birthday and anniversary, but it will be worth it.