The Intersection of Good Storytelling - Latest BRP Article

In my latest Blood-Red Pencil commentary, I talk about storytelling and the importance of developing a good plot and good depth for the story. I call these Horizontal Road and Vertical Road, respectively. Check out the commentary here, and leave comments!

Plotter, Pantser, Both? Talking with Author CHAMSIL @ All the Blog's a Page

Are you a PLOTTER or a PANTSER...or are you BOTH? That's the question being asked of the authors coming to you live this month on ALL THE BLOG'S A PAGE. I have had author-friends who truly detest plotting, feeling it takes away from what the characters want to say, and I've had author-friends who detest flying by the seat of their author pants because the writing produced never seems to gel and come together. What do you prefer? Check out what the AtBaP authors of July think and share your own thoughts!

We round out July with an author I've known for a while now; I tell you, he's one of the hardest working writers I know. If he's not writing, he's on course to promote, promote, promote his wares: author CHAMSIL!









For Unbeknownst:

Memphis, Tennessee, 20th century.

Jamin Edson is a young business professional, boyfriend, and father of one who sorely lacks the connection, but is seeking love and acceptance within the confines of his family structure. Although, he has longed for this interaction, it has seemed so far from his reach. So far, that he continuously feels defeated. Lindsay Beauregard is a young business professional, girlfriend, and mother of one who is inflexible in every stretch of the imagination. She is very aggressive, opinionated and does things entirely in the manner in which she feels they need to be done. Hope Edson is a young child and daughter of Jamin and Lindsay, who becomes an unfortunate victim of circumstance and entangled in the web that is her parents’ tumultuous and challenging relationship. When Jamin makes the drastic decision to flee the city, abandoning his family in a last ditch effort to escape the persistent and volatile drama, Lindsay is left with no choice but to pick up the remaining pieces of the shattered mirror. Sadly, Hope is also forced to pick up a piece in order to reflect on her life and where she’s headed, even at a very young age.

Take a journey into their worlds in order to see how lives are forever changed and how those same lives run in parallel to one another in entirely different environments over a span of a number of years. Witness the trials and tribulations, heartache and pain, successes, pitfalls, and shortcomings that are the result of one fateful decision. There are many lessons to be learned. Life goes on. Life brings about new experiences. Life has inevitable challenges. Life isn’t always what it seems. But, ultimately, life catches up with you, sooner or later. The only question is…will you be ready when it does?


This is Unbeknownst.


Stop by All the Blog's a Page to not only read CHAMSIL's thoughts on plotting and pantsing in his writing life, but to also read an excerpt of Unbeknownst!

All the Blog's a Page ~ [site]
Permalink ~ [link]

Latest Daily Tablet Piece: A Look into Writers Boot Camp, Part Two

Do you know what the Daily Tablet [link] is?

Daily Tablet is a brand-spanking new site, and its goal is to deliver the latest, greatest, hottest and coolest writer-friendly stuff directly to your inbox each weekday.

I recently joined DT as a DT Expert, someone to help inspire writers to...well, WRITE!

Last month, I offered a sneak peek into my Writers Boot Camp, and this month, I continue that "peek" with a look at the second assignment I give clients who pursue WBC with me.

Come check out "A Look into Writers Boot Camp, Part Two: Plot" and let me know your thoughts! Also, make sure you subscribe to Daily Tablet so that you can get daily writing news in your inbox!

Here's the [link]!

How Solid Is Your Plot?

Every story should have a main plot; most stories have several sub-plots within the main plot.

What is a plot?

Plot refers to the pattern of events within a narrative or drama; these events culminate into the story’s resolution.  The development of the events and how the main character(s) react to these events often give a story its meaning.

Most books that you read about plot will tell you that to have a solid plot, your story should have five components:

• Conflict
• Complications
• Rising Action
• Climax
• Falling Action

Conflict refers to the basic tension, predicament, or challenge that propels your story’s plot.  The conflict is experienced by your main character(s).  The character can be at battle with him or herself, or the character can be at battle with outside forces – like a pain-in-the-butt boss, an overprotective mother, or a cheating spouse.  The conflict will propel the character forward in order to resolve the conflict.  Question to ask yourself:  what is the initial conflict that propels your main character(s) forward in your story?

With any good story, the main character can’t solve the problem simply and ride off into the sunset.  Not if you want a novel, anyway.

There have to be Complications, those obstacles that prevent the main character from resolving the problem; these complications are what causes the tension to heighten in a work.  Question to ask yourself:  you know what your main conflict is.  What are the things that keep your character from resolving his/her issue quickly?

Rising Action occurs when the complications have created enough tension that the character realizes that something must be done and it must be done quickly.  Question to ask yourself:  now that you have your character on a tight rope of stress, anxiety, and conflict-driven insanity, what is the last thing that drives your character to resolve his/her issues and to do so NOW?

Once the character has done whatever is necessary to “kill” the conflict(s), we reach the story’s Climax, and Falling Action quickly follows, ending the story.  By the end of the story, something has changed – usually in the character or in the situation the character had to go through.  Question to ask yourself:  What is the result of your character taking on his/her conflict and resolving it?

Here’s a brief summary of the movie Fatal Attraction using this five-part model:

    Conflict:  Man has affair with woman who wants more than an affair.

    Complications:  Man learns woman is pregnant.  Man also realizes woman is crazy.  Woman wants him to be a part of her and the baby’s life.  Woman calls repeatedly.  Woman shows up at his house in the attempt to buy his place.  Woman destroys his car and leaves a tape for him to listen to.  Once man actually moves away, woman still finds his home and kills his daughter’s bunny; he’s forced to tell his wife about the affair and baby.

    Rising Action:  Woman kidnaps the man’s daughter, which causes his wife to drive off, frantically looking for the girl; she’s injured in a car accident.  Man realizes he needs to fully face his actions and gets the police involved; he vows to protect his family.

    Climax:  The woman breaks into the man’s home and tries to kill his wife.  He and the woman get into a huge fight, but ultimately, the wife shoots and kills the woman.

    Falling Action:  Police and paramedics arrive and take care of things.  Movie ends with man shaking the hand of a police official, going inside his house, hugging his wife, and walking off camera into another part of the house.  Very last image, a photo of their happy family on the mantel; we can assume they try to patch things up, but besides that, we can safely say things have CHANGED – for the characters and for the situation.

The “Questions to ask yourself” above?  Think about those as you develop your work.  If you’re a pantser (someone who gets an idea and writes without organizing most of the work), then think about this once you’ve gotten to a “quiet” part of the book.  If you’re a plotter (pretty self-explanatory, but it’s someone who likes to outline work before jumping in), then definitely think about these components before you delve into PAGE ONE.