Outside, the wind howled, the thermometer dropping to a bracing negative nine degrees as I waited for Sally to arrive for our Monday Morning conversation. I had hoped she’d found a story question as she thought about the themes of her story. Ironically, I’d been thinking about marketing my new book, and had to return to the storyquestion of that book to create the right marketing and PR campaign. I blew on my hot cocoa, glad I’d opted for a large as Sally came in, wrapped in a scarf and hat, the icy blast dragging in behind her. Anne already had her coffee ready. Sally set a stack of books on the table as she retrieved her coffee. I looked at her choices – Jane Eyre, the movies Pearl Harbor […]
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The Noble Quest Up Close and Personal
We’ve been talking Character creation a bit here on MBT, in the Team Member Forum, as well as on the site, and while talking with my Mentee the other day, we were trying to flesh out her heroine’s Noble Quest. What does she want? What is this story about? What journey does she embark upon? This is an essential part of the Hero/Heroine’s journey that is key to the story. My mentee’s first response was, “Well, she wants to start a clinic for children.” Great goal. Very noble. But that’s not the heroines real Noble Quest. The clinic, if she accomplishes her dream, is the end result of the Noble Quest. It is her specific, measurable and realistic goal. (and if you can add a time-sensitive element to it, it […]
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TEE Recommends: 5 Resources for Polishing Your Writing Contest Entry
Can you hear it? Take your hands off your keyboards for moment and listen … that’s the sound of thousands of writers muttering to themselves, “It is contest time again … contest time …” Think MBT Frasier. ACFW Genesis. And the hundreds of other writing contests sponsored by other writing groups and blogs. Writers are zeroing in on hooks. Heroines. Heroes. Villains. Dialogue. Storyworld. But today I’m fast-forwarding to that final draft, that last bit of polish and shine. (Don’t you wish it were possible?) When you run your editorial fingers through your manuscript one last time, do you even consider fine-tuning your mechanics? Most writing contests have a category rating your spelling, punctuation and grammar skills. And even if mechanics isn’t an actual category, submitting a contest entry without typos, […]
Read the RestQuick Skills Class: Discover your Story Question to give your story power
Are you finished with your book but can’t quickly articulate what it’s about? You know it’s a great story, but it falls flat as you struggle to find the right words? Maybe you need to hone your Storyquestion. The Story Question is the conscious, or subconscious question that drives your character – and reader – through the book. It’s the truth they are seeking to find. Or it could be the truth they will accidentally discover. Whatever it is, it’s personal, and something that readers themselves want answers to. Every book, movie, short story – and non-fiction book, for that matter, has a question, however subtle. And, it’s the stories that ask riveting questions through the circumstances of their characters that linger with us. Consider Of Mice and Men. A haunting […]
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