I read something interesting the other day. “Titles are the lens through which we read a story.” It makes a lot of sense. A title can enhance or reverse our understanding of a story. It’s like labels. If you see two people arguing and fighting and kicking each other, it […]
The next exercises in the chapter all revolve around the first. You essentially pick it apart. Kind of odd, if you ask me. Like scratching something off your back, and inspecting it. Well, here is it. First, a look at story world. How well do you do it? Are […]
I’m being silly with the title. But here is why: James Scott Bell tells us in chapter four his thoughts on beginnings. They must check a series of elements. The story hooks the reader, usually with motion (which I thought a nice touch). The reader bonds with the lead. The […]
Who doesn’t like pyramids? Mr Bell always wanted one named after him, so in his plot book he did just that. He asks writers to put their unsunken lines and hooks through another test: PPP. Does the story inspire passion? Does the story have potential? Will the writing […]
In chapter three we find a quote from Woody Allen’s Annie Hall. These Hollywood producers are shooting the breeze, coming up with movie pitches, when one of them say, “That isn’t an idea, it’s an notion. If we put some money into it, then maybe we can turn it into a […]
In chapter three of his plot book, Mr Bell suggests ways for coming up with hundreds of ideas. Ok, we wonder, why? Remember how one tip to writing subsequent scenes was to imagine multiple scenarios? We tend to write A, B, C, D . . . but Mr Bell suggested, […]
This exercise comes from the James Scott Bell’s plot book, but it hit me so hard I decided to treat it as something separate. Basically, Mr Bell takes the old adage, “Write what you know,” and makes it, “Write who you are.” It sounds almost Julia Camerom-esque. When you invest […]
Finally! The last exercise from chapter 2 is this third one. Using a structure diagram, map out your current plot. (I plotted my next novel, Awake & Asleep.) Come up with a disturbance scene and events that make up the two doorways of no return. (Done.) Write these down […]
How could I not? I read chapter 2 of Mr Bell’s Plot book through the lens of my last novel. Why? Because I wrote They Lived They Were with plot squarely in mind. At first I wrote freely, as I tend to do. But later, every editing decision, every scene […]
Now we enter chapter 2. It’s the point of no return! The part after the beginning and the part before the end, the “muddle” as the author cites. Lol. The muddle. I’ve always been shy of my muddles. What do I do? I tattoo them with references. I slash them […]
The last exercise from chapter one talks about all the little things that make a story amazing, on top of plot. They key here being writing plot-first doesn’t stifle creativity. Since everything you add on top is you. For example, the recipe for making an omelette is pretty much […]
Today’s exercise calls for four lines, one for each of the LOCK element, on your next novel. Well, well! I do have a next novel idea, which I really (really) want to be plotty. Like I might as well get the thing down pat. Butterflies, remember? Gossamer wings. Plot of […]
This exercise builds off another idea from chapter one of Mr Bell’s simple and clean book on training your plot muscles. Essentially, the structure of our favorite books boils down to this acronym: L.O.C.K. In pieces, Lead, Objective, Confrontation, Knockout. Acronyms are sexy, we must admit, and choice […]
The first book in the semester of Plot will be James Scott Bell’s Plot & Structure. With a name like that, how could you go wrong? Not his, although it does reminds me of one of my favorite professors in college, Susan Bell . . . nevertheless, just for bibliography’s […]
Has it ever happened to you where you get the same message three different times, in three different ways? Your stomach growls, you’re hungry. But it’s better to save money, hold off until dinner. And then you see an ad on your computer for ice cream. No, you say. Then […]
Ms Suskin has already urged us to make meaning out of the little things, the big things. But what is the most important of all the meanings? Our own meaning. In today’s episode, the poets gathered to explore their own purpose. People will always ask you why you do […]
Today’s exercise asks us to utilize our senses when we write a poem. I’m here watching this video, smelling my sweat, greasy hair stuck to my brow, thinking, duh. But, Ms J Suskin, let us honor the gods with our five senses! Below are my five and a bonus […]
These exercises feel easy and doable (during working hours! Opps). I am grateful for them. They really inspire. Especially with how I tell myself I should be training more. Be more of a champion. Practice daily, all the time, every moment I get, religiously. Today’s exercise features purpose. In […]
My mother is super into webinars, and in daily meditation, and daily practice. So, here I am, sharing in her delights. She sent me a series hosted by a longtime poet and motivator of words within us: Jacqueline Suskin. Now, when I read her name out loud (in my head, […]
My favorite thing to do is think. I know a lot of people don’t like to. But I was the kind of kid who would quickly put together his Lego set, just so he could lie on his tummy and stare at the pieces. I learned late in life that […]