“I think I just need to sum up.” Sally sat on the deck of the coffee shop, staring out at the lake, the waves frothy along the shore as it coughs up the debris of winter. A spring fragrance seasons the air, and from the earth around the deck, irises brave the crisp Minnesota air. Any warmer, and we might be out here in our shirtsleeves, so anxious we are for summer. I sit down, lift my face to the sun. “Sum away.” “I just want to make sure I have the Three Acts correct. I know we discussed them all, and then I dove right into my synopsis, but I just need to make sure I understand the overall flow of story structure.” “I’m all ears.” “Okay, in Act […]
Read the RestArchive | April, 2012
Don’t be Fooled, Part Four: Fooled Me Twice
Ever heard the old saying, “fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me?” You’d think we would learn from our mistakes but those I coach report they seem to go around the same mistakes over and over again like they are on an emotional carrousel. I’ve done it myself more times than I care to admit. If we continue to make the same mistakes over and over again, it can be damaging to our emotional health in many ways. Here are a few: 1) We conclude we are in some way incapable. If we continue to fall into the same hole, it has a way of telling us we were meant to be in the hole. 2) We learn to accept living in the hole. When […]
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Featured Fiction Friday with James L. Rubart
The Frasier Entries are in! Now all we can do is sit down, cuddle up with our bags of popcorn, and wait for the results. In the meantime though, My Book Therapy will spend Fridays introducing you to the work of our all-powerful judges. This week we are pleased to introduce you to James L. Rubart and his new book: The Chair. Q: Tell us about your Book. A: If someone gave you a chair and said it was made by Jesus Christ, would you believe them? When an elderly lady shows up in Corin Roscoe’s antiques store and gives him a chair she claims was crafted by Jesus, he scoffs. But when a young boy is miraculously healed two days after sitting in the chair, he stops laughing and starts wondering . . […]
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Villainous Antagonists: Tips, Tricks and Hints
This week on our fast Maass notes review, we’re going to look at the antagonist. What is an antagonist? The opposite of protagonist. (Yeah, thanks, Rach, big help!) Antagonist is the villain. The opposite of the hero. The trouble maker, the one who pulls against the protagonist to keep her from achieving her goal and dream. Some famous antagonist you might remember: Darth Vadar Lex Luthor Kryptonite The terrorist in Die Hard Biff in Back to the Future In Sweet Caroline, the diner, The Frogmore Café, was the antagonist. A broken down diner the heroine inherited. She could’ve cared less about the building, but the people who came with it tugged on her heart. In Dining with Joy, her secret – that she can’t cook – is like the antagonist. […]
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