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Extreme Book Makeover: Help! I think my plot is boring!

By on February 3, 2014 in 1. Discover your story, Crafting a Strong Premise, Extreme Book Makeover, How do I create a Storyquestion and Stakes for my story?, Susan May Warren

I have to admit, I’ve never met an aspiring author who has said their plot is boring. Usually, what I get is a detailed waxing of the story, without any major explosions except the ones happening inside the author’s head. And lest you think I’m harsh, I’ve often been one of those authors! You know if you are boring someone, however, if they keep smiling at you while glancing away, or better, nodding, sighing and saying, “Wow! All that in one book?”

I was mentoring an aspiring author this weekend, and she said…well, why is my book different from every book out there? My answer: because she is different, and her voice is different, so she will tell her story differently.

But that still doesn’t make it sellable.

Sellable books come in two categories: High Concept and Low Concept.

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Don’t Sacrifice the Gift

By on February 1, 2014 in Encourage Me!, Life Coaching, Nurturing Creativity, Nurturing the Soul, Reba Hoffman, Writer's life, Writing Life

When I was in high school, my brother ran cross-country on our high school track team in Florida. On the opposite side of the country, one of the most incredible runners of all time, Steve Prefontaine, was breaking all track records while running track for the University of Oregon.

Under the ground breaking coaching of Bill Bowerman (founder of Nike), Steve ignored personal pain and agony in order to get faster. When asked why he would put his body through such brutality, Steve answered, “To do less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.”

Though Bill Bowerman went on cobbling shoes for his runner and later founded Nike, on May 30, 1975, Steve “Pre” Prefontaine was tragically killed in a car accident. But one thing’s for sure, he left it all out on the track. There was not a race inside him that day he’d left unraced. Not an ounce of running energy left unexpended.

You have a gift as well.

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Rachel Hauck

Backstory, Flashback, Memory Moment: The Difference

By on January 30, 2014 in Book Therapist, Rachel Hauck

In order to give our characters depth and widen our stories, we layer in backstory, flashback and memory moments.

Flashbacks and Backstory are familiar terms to most novelists.

Memory moments is my term to break out from backstory and flashback as ways to bring in “the past” of a character.

I also use the term Character History. But I’ve blogged about that already and it’s not exactly where I’m going with this post.

This post is the difference between backstory, flashback, and memory moment.

Backstory is back story. Another story. Something from the character’s “past.”

The rule in novel writing is no back story for the first 30 – 50 pages. Meaning, no wandering backwards in the character’s story line while we’re meeting them and discovering the initial conflict.

But we never really need a break from the current action to go backwards in the story.

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Finding Balance in Writing & Life: Lessons in Waiting

By on January 29, 2014 in 4. Writer’s Life, Inspiration and Life Coaching, Lisa Jordan, Writing

Believe it or not, though, but there is joy in the waiting. Unfortunately many of us can’t see it while we’re going through that season, but hindsight shows us the blessings.

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