Last week I talked how to blitz your way out of writer’s block. Most writer’s blocks, and problems with story have to do with motivation, lack of greatest fears and greatest dreams of the main character. Breaking free from a writer’s block involves going back to those elements, and asking: What could rock my hero/heroine’s world right now? I showed you how, when I was writing Tying the Knot, I used this question with my heroine — a woman traumatized by her past, who learns to trust again. Now, let’s turn to the hero, and see what he can do to break us free. My hero is a Native American who’s always been judged by his outward appearance, but inside he’s a total hero. When he meets Anne, he feels […]
Read the RestArchive | Uncategorized RSS feed for this section
Doctor’s Notes: Breaking Free of the Thought Blanket
Mom? Mom! MOM, CAN YOU HEAR ME? Sadly, I’m not standing across the room. I’m sitting at the dinner table, supposedly in conversation with my family. But they’ve said something, a snippet of dialogue or an event, a question – something that has jolted me out of conversation, and caused what my children call my Thought Blanket to sneak up and grab me. It pulls me under, and pretty soon I’m caught in a story. I feel like there should be a Calvin and Hobbes comic about a Blanket that sneaks up on Calvin and grabs him, pulls him under, because that’s what it’s like, isn’t it? One second you’re perfectly well engaged in the world, the next you’re caught in a scene, wondering if you’ve given your child permission […]
Read the RestAsk the Doc: Contest!
“Ask the Doc!” We at Book Therapy care about your WIP, and its problems… We know that getting along with your characters can be a challenge. They’re moody, or introverted, or maybe they simply don’t want to cooperate with your plot. Worse, sometimes they refuse to come out and play! We understand…and want to help!! Here’s your chance to get real advice from book doctors trained to help you fix your fiction. What is your MOST VEXING issue in your current wip? Go to the Ask the Doc entry form, write your answer, and be eligible to win a copy of NOAH LUKEMAN’s THE PLOT THICKENS — 8 WAYS TO BRING FICTION TO LIFE~ ! A fascinating book about CHARACTERIZATION and how to create juicy conflict. A MUST HAVE for […]
Read the RestPrescriptions: Breaking through Writer’s Block Week 1
Most writer’s blocks, and problems with story have to do with motivation, lack of greatest fears and greatest dreams of the main character. You’ve got a great idea – a great character, a great problem, a incredible theme…but you’re half-way through the book and suddenly, you don’t know where to go. Your scene seems boring, flat, and suddenly you’re looking at the entire book wondering how you got into this mess. This happened to me on my second contracted book Tying the Knot. It was the early days, and I still hadn’t figured out how to structure a novel, how to break past my writer’s block. I was home, on furlough, doing a lot of traveling, and somehow I had to fit in writing. However, I was just blank. I […]
Read the Rest
