Unearthing Conflict

On Mother’s Day weekend I got to take time off. Not jsut from work, but from the family as well. I took off all my hats, leaving only that of daughter and writer on, and whizzed away into the Poconos.

It was awesome.

Mountain Spreings Lake Resort, PA - cabin no. 24, already reserved for next year!

My mom and I stayed in a lovely Cabin, with a dock. Hiked about a forest on well maintained trails to view lots of waterfalls. Took a guided horseback ride on a wooded trail. And generally relaxed and bounced writing ideas off each other.

It’s funny how different we are. She’s writing children’s books, and collecting family stories. I’m working on a fantasy with elements of steam punk. Yet we helped each other out quite a bit. Like contemplating over what would happen if my crystal powered undead managed to infect a fish. The thought of flopping fish that desired human flesh and needed to get to the capitol city incited a plethora of giggles. On a more serious note, we discussed a way to tie in all her family stories, via one over arching thread, and just how that thread would lead to the breaking of the curse.

Importantly for me, I figured out just how I want Unearthing Magic to begin. Thanks to the cabin wall and sticky notes, I whittled down my opening scenes and played with character motivations and conflicts. 

Plotting on the Cabin Wall

Lori was my hardest character. She’s passive-aggressive and prefers to she avoids conflict.

Case in Point: After Ara died, Lori knew she ought to go home to her birth mother, but she doesn’t want to. So rather than asking her parents if she can stay, or asking Mart to do so for her, she just stays and says nothing.  – But then I realized, this is her conflict.  – Because she’s passive, if her birth parents call her to move back home, she’ll do so to try and avoid her mother’s volcanic temper, even though she wants to stay with Mart. And until Lori finds herself pulled into the troubles of the larger world, she’s always going to be fearful that she’ll be called back across the road to stay.

Goes to show that even passive people can have conflict, even when they’d rather avoid it – and the avoidance of conflict can also make that conflict bigger.



Final outline of Chapters 1-3

I’m quite happy with how this revision is turning out. So far I’ve got the first three Chapters plotted out, each with four viewpoints. as you can see in the diagram below. I didn’t want to wait too long introducing each character, but Travis and Angela got the whole first Chapter to themselves. After all the ball starts rolling downhill with Travis’s last assassination attempt, that leads to his kidnapping and it’s not until after that kidnapping that Herbert and Lori enter the picture.

Yes, I’m quite happy with where my first three chapters are going. And when I have them set, I’ll work on the next bunch – however many that may be.

 

Bushkill Falls - if your ever in PA near Wilks-Barre Scraton - check it out - a very well maintained private park with fourteen (yes 14) waterfalls, and a look out, we didn't make it too because we'd already walked around for thre hours. :}

:} Cathryn Leigh

Flying Phoenixes Flutter and Flounder

I’m late. I’m sorry. Moving on... *grins*

Last month I mentioned I was working on reading though my Videra Phoenixes. When I started, I was worried because reading and taking notes on Book 1 was arduous. But once I was past that relic, the reading speed up (as note taking slowed down). Yes, this once trilogy clearly shows that with practice, even sans reading craft books, my writing has improved.  

 

Now that I’ve gotten through all 890 or so pages, I’m transcribing my notes into word so I can put them all in their proper categories (I color coded them as I took them) to figure out how to turn this massive story into books, that maybe, people might like to read.

Yes, the characters started commenting after a certain point...

One of the first things I’ve figured out is that there are really about five books in what I originally wrote as a Trilogy:

• Book 1: Sarah’s Phoenix, needs the most work (written in 2005, edited in 2009, yup a relic)
• Book 2: Phoenix Rising, more a romantic interlude than anything and I find its plot puzzling
• Book 3: Phoenix Burning (was second half of Phoenix Rising), the plot definitely works
• Book 4: Phoenix Triumphant, again a good solid plot
• Book 5: Phoenix United (was third, third of Phoenix Triumphant), seems to be mostly romance with a euphoric ending (well it gave me a permasmile)

Now, I’m going through the joy of figuring out where Book 1 ends and Book 2 begins, because I’ve decided that I’m rewriting Book 1 for April’s Camp NaNoWriMo (my goal is at least 25,000 words to keep the stress and lack of sleep minimal). But how do I revamp the plot of Sarah’s Phoenix without having to rewrite everything?

It’s tough. When I was first reading it, I had a brilliant idea, which slowly got squished as I read the other books realizing just how important the set up in Book 1 and 2 were. So I’m trying my hand at plotting, but I’m not going to do it chapter by chapter. Unearthing Magic taught me that that method doesn’t quite work for me. Instead I’m trying a five point plot – Intro, Call to Action, Midpoint, Climax and Resolution.

Not working so well. At least it’s not feeling like it is. I could be over complicating the issue. I’m really good at that. But the plot is pretty complex, because you’ve got the political backdrop to the romance, acting as the main obstacle keeping Sarah and Hasón from their ‘Happily Ever After’. My little private Facebook group (spawned from NaNo, how I love thee) has recommended I diagram each plot so I can see where how they merge.

Do I tackle the whole Book 1 through 5 plot, or do I do it book by book? And how many plots do I have... I know my two main ones, but what about the characters? Are their character arcs another plot... Or am I, as I said, making this way more complex than it needs to be? *HELP*

I also just realized I’m turning... 36 (phew I thought it was 37, opps *grins*) in April, and I would like to have my first book published by 40. That means I only have four more years, and I figure at least the last two ought to be for the query process *gulp*

Better get to work, hadn’t I? I also better figure out what book I’d like to query first, because strangely, I’m wondering if it shouldn’t be Unearthing Magic as opposed to Sarah’s Phoenix. What do you think? How should I choose?

 

:} Cathryn Leigh

Tea and Granny Squares!

January was one of the craziest months I’ve very lived. Very stressful too. I mentioned in my last blog that my company was undergoing a transition. Basically they filed bankruptcy and then had the assets bought by another company. Then, the company that won the auction (that’s right our company went up for auction!) wasn’t who they’d thought it would be. So now the original intent to hires were null and we were all put in limbo hoping to either find another job (without knowing exactly when this one would end) or pick up an offer from the purchasing company.

Unfortunately my job leads haven’t been that great, so the stress was really high. Then at last, a week ago, I was given an offer. It may only be for three months, and it all around closing out this office for good. BUT, it’s something and it gives me more time to keep looking.


Now to the fun part, and explanation of the pictures. See I’ve been using my ‘down’ time at work for some personal project, just too keep myself form going insane (or bursting into tears). Can you guess which items below correspond to the pictures above and below?

• Using Visio to create floor plans for a variety of things (my own creative space, Mart’s house, Mom’s space arc, blanket design...)
• Working on completing Unearthing Magic (totally completed and partially 1/3 fist pass edited)
• Crocheting granny squares and using Visio to create a blanket design
• Reading through my Videra Phoenixes (aka Phoenixes of Vervell) with an eye for plot, character, setting and how to revise the darn thing so it all makes sense and flows well

If you guessed, the first and second to last one, you’re right! It was the knitting moms at the Dance Studio that reminded me I had a blanket to make for my daughter. SO after deciding I wasn’t going to knit it, but crochet neat granny Squares, I started making all sorts of cool symmetrical designs in Visio where no color ever touched itself. But my daughter wanted to make changes. Not having Visio at home I gave her a bunch of colored paper squares to play with. The picture is the design she came up with after looking at mine for ideas. Hey it’s her blanket, so I’ll go with it!

As for the tea mentioned in the title, well...

My mom came down with fabric (color coordination picked out by the daughter as well)  all cut out for our tea gowns. See my church has been having a Ladies Tea around Valentines Day for four years and we like to make it a point to dress up for it. This year we went with pseudo Regency dresses. Which my mom finished making at about 1 am the night before... Whew. Go Mom!


Now I need to keep working on the Granny Squares (I got about 20 more to go before I can start putting it together) and my Videra Phoenixes. Unearthing Magic will be put aside, as I’ve found one major writing project at a time is all I can do.

Hopefully, in three to four months time, things will settle out into something more normal and less stressful.

 :} Cathryn LeighP.S. sorry for the delay, given the work situation you’d think I’d have been able to keep up *facepalm*)

To Review or not to Review that is the...

Lemon! No wait, sorry I had a surrealist moment and really, there is no question. I’m not reviewing a book this month because I beta read Destroying by Miriam Joy rather than something published. However, sending her my comments gave me my idea for this post – A review of the edits I made to draft seven of Watching, also by Miriam Joy (and she gave me her permission).

Now, I’m no expert editor with years of experience. Watching was the first non-self book I’ve edited, but Miriam claims it helped her a lot. So, without further ado I give you the original passage, with a word count of 208. 

     “Hi,” I said with a tight smile, and hoped that would be enough to stop myself from appearing rude. It seemed to be all that was required.     Talking to her parents was not easy. It would have been hard to talk to the parents of the girl I had just almost kissed even if I wasn’t absolutely crap at talking to humans – especially the adults – the rest of the time.     “So, Alex, you’re a friend of Jennie’s from school, right?” Her father was speaking, laying the table while Jennie and Alex bustled around, helping their mother to serve the food. I could smell pizza. I forced a smile onto my face before I replied.     “Well, we’re in the same set, yes, but we hadn’t talked that much before recently,” I said truthfully.     “So what brought you here today?”     “Well, I sort of scared Jennie earlier and I actually came over to apologise,” I said, while looking at her to check I was saying the right thing. “Besides, we hadn’t finished our conversation.” Lame excuse, but nobody noticed because at that moment Jennie and her mother brought over the large plates full of pizza and sat down. I was about to tuck in when their father started saying Grace, which surprised me. I hadn’t known that Jennie came from a Christian family.

Now here is where I requested changes and some whys; [brackets = delete] and (parenthesis = add)

• “Hi,” I said with a tight smile, [and hoped] (hoping) that [would be] (was) enough to [stop myself] (keep me) from appearing rude.
  - The first two changes are about tightening the sentence, while the last one is, I hope, using stronger words,  
• Talking to her parents was not easy. It would have been hard to talk to the parents of the girl I had just almost kissed even if I wasn’t absolutely crap at talking to humans – especially the adults – the rest of the time.
  - I didn’t change anything here, but I did make a note on how this statement related to Alex’s character and his interactions with others
• “So, Alex, [you’re] (you are) a friend of Jennie’s [from school, right] (then)?”
  -  Its hard to emphasis a contracted word, and how they are friends isn’t as important to the father clarifying that Alex is or isn’t a friend, since there’s been some waffling on this subject earlier.
• Her father was [speaking] (spoke as he ), [laying] (laid) the table(.) [while Jennie and Alex bustled around, helping their mother to serve the food.]
  - This sentence was long and the second half of it unnecessary, especialy since Alex wasn’t helping (probably should have been Alys, the little sister)
• [I could smell pizza.]
  - Not needed, we find out about the Pizza at an appropriate time later.
• I forced a smile onto my face(.) [before I replied.]
  - His dialog follows this so before I replied isn’t necessary.
• “Well, we’re in the same set, yes, but we hadn’t talked that much before recently[,](.)” I [said] (was) truthful[ly].
  - I decided that said wasn’t needed and in taking it out the adverb ‘disappeared’.
•  “Well, I sort of scared Jennie earlier and I actually came over to apologise[,](,)” I [said, while looking] (looked) at her to check I was saying the right thing.
  - notice that removing said, allows us to remove one more word and we break a long sentence into two (not always necessary)
• I was about to tuck in when their father started saying Grace[, which surprised me]. (Surprised I bowed my head;) I hadn’t known [that] Jennie(’s family was) [came from a] Christian [family].
  - Here I chose to take Alex’s reaction to the action (saying grace) into a separate sentence, while trying to tighten up the wording.

The hardest part of the editing is keeping the author’s style. You’ll not I removed said twice. It’s a word I tend to avoid, but one that Miriam likes to use. There’s no wrong or right way, it’s just a matter of preference. I’d like to think that because I wasn’t changing said to a descriptor (like yelled or whispered), I managed to keep her style. But here, you judge if the 187 word result sounds similar in style, I didn't check to see what she did with my comments.

     “Hi,” I said with a tight smile, hoping that was enough to keep me from appearing rude.
     Talking to her parents was not easy. It would have been hard to talk to the parents of the girl I had just almost kissed even if I wasn’t absolutely crap at talking to humans – especially the adults – the rest of the time.     “So, Alex, you are a friend of Jennie’s, then?” Her father spoke as he laid the table.
     I forced a smile onto my face. “Well, we’re in the same set, yes, but we hadn’t talked that much before recently.” I was truthful.     “So what brought you here today?”     “Well, I sort of scared Jennie earlier and I actually came over to apologise.” I looked at her to check I was saying the right thing. “Besides, we hadn’t finished our conversation.”
     Lame excuse, but nobody noticed because at that moment Jennie and her mother brought over large plates full of pizza and sat down. I was about to tuck in when their father started saying Grace. Surprised I bowed my head; I hadn’t known Jennie’s family was Christian.

Now what do you think? Is it better or worse than the original passage? Are there additional things you might change if you were editing it?

:} Cathryn Leigh

Aieeeeeeee! Says the Specter

At least that’s as close as I can get to her wailing. She does it a bit, especially in those situations where the systems she’d help set up 950 or so years ago have fallen into corruption and ruin. But before I say any more let me introduce her to you.

Tabitha S Era (S is her last name, Era is equivalent to saying Ms.) was born around 1,000 years before Unearthing Magic begins. Her history is a complicated one, and suffice it to say that she was the catalyst for the Separatist Revolution that broke the single Magi kingdom into four, and founding the country in which non-magi live without being enslaved by the magi. However during that revolution Tabitha was encased in crystal to ensure Trabia remained under its own rule. Set free by accident, she’s not really happy with what the Non-magi have done, but after 1,000 years of crystallization, she’s not really in the right mind to fix it.

Much like in her own life, she’ll be acting as a somewhat antagonistic catalyst for my main characters, specifically the farm girl, Lori, who is a direct descendant. Here are my answers for her to the 20 Beautiful People questions I picked out of the archive.

Easy Questions

1. Does his or her name have a special meaning? – Tabi was likely named for a tabby cat, given her hair is bright orange. Other than that, Tabitha was not chosen for its meaning, but apparently (according to the book I have) it means gazelle in Greek and Aramaic.
2. Right, or left handed? - left, well, once she was taught how to write
3. Favorite color? - Sky Blue, the kind you find on days when the sky is dotted with fluffy clouds
4. Do they like hugs? - Definitely, especially those rare ones from Sabareil... Who isn't even a character in this book *Glares and character who bubbles with laughter and sticks her tongue out at her author* - she's also very mature for a 1,000 year old *eyeroll*
5. Favorite season of the year? - Spring, she loves the colors that spring up everywhere
6. Favorite kind of weather? - warm and gentle summer rains
7. Does he/she have a good sense of humor? If so what kind? - Yes, probably more so than the cast she's supporting would like. She's a practical joker and a bit loopy; not that I blame her.
8. Is he/she naturally curious? - Yes, in fact it was her curiosity and desire to know how things worked that made her one of the greatest magi of her time, unfortunately she never managed to be in a position to truly be a magical scientist, magisist?
9. Does he/she see the big picture or live in the moment? - She used to live in the moment, but once freed from her crystal prison she's beginning to see the big picture (and she's not liking it one bit) *Tabitha wails in agreement*
10. What do others expect from them? - Not a lot as Lori is the only one who can see her. But when Tabitha appears Lori’s sure it’s because she needs Lori to do something for her or she's causing mischief.
11. What does their average day look like? - Tabitha spends her time flitting about Trabia, checking on this and that, sometimes she even goes back to her prison to ponder the crystaline structure she had made. Other times she studies the spells that flow around it, trying to figure out how to undo the damage that was done 1,000 years ago
12. What does he/she do with his/her spare time? - See above, all of Tabitha's time is spare now.

Thought Provoking Questions

1. What would they do if they discovered they were dying? – Tabitha would try to do something to bring good into the world. Which is why she's a bit pissed at Trabia, since she already sacrificed herself to save them and they are NOT running the country nicely. *More agreement wails from Tabitha*
2. If they could change one thing in their world, what would it be? - Make the whole world see that neither separation, nor suppression is the answer and that magi and non-magi can live together in peace – Yes, folks she just went for the World Peace answer.
3. What do they think about when nothing else is going on? - When she's not worrying about how to fix what went wrong with the Trabian government, she's probably pondering how things work.
4. If they had to amputate one body part, which one would they choose? - Her source (of magical power), preferably before she discovered she had it, thus choosing the life of the non-magi, which she felt was simpler and less 'out to get you' than the magi life she ended up with.
5. If your character crashed on an island with a bunch of other people, how would your character help the group survive? - She'd help them keep their spirits up with humor, while guiding them on how to build a boat, without them realizing it.

Relationship Questions

1. Describe their relationship as a whole in 3 words or less.- With Lori:  Annoying Mentor
   - With Travis: Inspiring Historical Figure
   - With Andrew: Puzzling Presence

Questions out of their world

1. If they could drive any kind of car they wanted, what would it be? - Tabitha would totally have a red sports car, and she'd probably modify it to be faster than it was off the showroom floor.
2. What would their favorite be at the local coffee shop? - Iced Mocha Frappachino

So there you have it. Tabitha S Era, the forgotten protector of Trabia.

:} Cathryn Leigh

Let the Plotting Complete!

Yesterday, I did an unthinkable thing – I completed the plotting of Unearthing Magic.

But this didn’t happen without hiccups along the way.

The first thing I encountered was trying to think in terms of scenes. After all Save the Cat is about screenplays, so of course it’s looking at scenes. This meant, if I used Snyder’s method, that I would include on my post-its:

• Setting (interior, exterior, one per scene)
• What happens (short sentence)
• +/- (The emotional change)
• >< (the conflict, every scene has one)

My initial introduction of the characters, Snyder's way

I got about fifteen post-its in, laboring on each one for fifteen minutes or more over the course of two or three days. It wasn’t working for me, so I took a step back because one of my life’s lessons has been; people think in different ways, even if they are good at the same things.

~You see in college, I had a friend who was a Chemist, like me. We took the same classes, studied in the same group, and got the same grades, until we hit the mandatory programming class. The language doesn’t matter (Fortran77 is you must know), what does was the fact that I breezed though (creating programs on the side), while she struggled. Turns out my brain can think like a computer, but hers couldn’t.~

So instead of continually bashing my brain against Snyder’s method until I plotted the whole thing, I looked at the result that was desired – a series of steps that could be followed to be expanded into chapters of a book that moved through a plot progression – and tried to come up with my own method for getting there. Then *BAMN!* I remembered something I did during NaNo 2011:

-  To ensure I didn’t lose the flow of the story when I had to stop, I tries to always write a sentence or two, summing up my thoughts on where things were going. For Example:

"<In which Rachael and Michael deliver Transium to Terra Firma 2 and Rachael is waylaid by a couple of UCPA authorities, who quickly realize they are in over their heads.>"

Okay so it worked as a word count booster, but more importantly it helped with the flow because I ended with 82k words (compared to my 53K of NaNo2010). It was time to see if it’d work for pre-plotting.

The character introductions, my way

Clearing my board of plot (keeping title and log line), I started fresh, using sentences beginning with “In Which”. I had to do a little rewriting at one point because I picked the wrong colors to do Point of View in, but then it started to flow. I mean really flow – suddenly in two or three sittings I’d reached the mid-point. And then in two or three more I’d cascaded to the finish line.

Now, my work isn’t done. I’ve already spotted some potential weak points and are thinking about rearranging the view point order (Blue and Green are the two foreign Princes, and Purple is the farm girl). Plus who knows what the story will do once I actually start writing it. But maybe, this time, there might be more of a plot than Rachael and company in the Nueri gave me for NaNo2011.

The next step – to do a little more characterization on my main characters. So who would you like to see answer some Beautiful People questions first:

• Lori – the farm girl who finds out she a magi, from the country that suppresses magic use
• Travis – heir to the throne of the neighboring kingdom and an average magi
• Andrew – the older brother of Travis, who lives in Lori’s country and isn’t a Magi
• A random supporting character, protagonist or antagonist.

:} Cathryn Leigh

Unearthing Magic is Like...

...the title of my NaNovel of 2012. No, really it is. *grin*

I was sitting outside, eating my lunch trying to come up with titles when, *BAM* it hit me like a punch from a Batman comic. I didn’t even have another contender on the page, and I’ve got the feeling that this will stick. After all my there will be a few things ‘unearthed’ during the course of the novel. The most symbolic of which will be the main protagonist’s digging deep into herself to find the strength to do what needs to be done.

But, I’m getting ahead of myself. Remember how I mentionedthe Board last week? I’ve since figured out how to make a reasonably portable one. I went to Staples this past week and I bought myself the items listed below for about $27.56 plus Tax.

• 11”x14” (expands to 33” x 14”) Grid Project Board - $4.99
• 10 Pack of Zebra #2, 0.77mm, mechanical pencils (w/eraser) - $4.29
• Pentel R.S.V.P. Colors, 8 pack, M (i.e. 8 colored pens for coding) - $6.29
• 12 pack of 3” x 3” Canary Yellow Post-it Notes (probably way more than I need) - $11.99

One I got home, I pulled out my sharpie (normally used to label my kids lunches) and created the masterpiece you see below. Acts 1 2 (in two parts) and 3 with a block for title and logline and a color code key.

(It was hard not to get a glare and those grid-lines really do disappear, a bit too easily) 

Portability wasn’t a problem. I just made sure I mended everything that I had in the purple peace bag (two skirts for my daughter) and voila! It amazingly fit (just) and of course into the bag went “Save the Cat” as well as my working notebook for Trabia (now with the immensely better name of ‘Unearthing Magic’).

Now I’m working on filling it up with post-its. The first one I put on the board – The title and logline (that’s what I dedicated the box in the top left for). A logline that’s even gone through some revision based upon feedback. Okay, so I didn’t approach strangers, but my Maryland NaNo Facebook group gave wonderful feedback (as did Charley and Miriam).

Thanks to them I’m now plotting out *cue movie trailer voice*

“Unearthing Magic”
- In a kingdom where magic is suppressed, a farm girl discovers her powers. Honing them under the protection of two foreign princes, she sets out to help defeat the vengeful magi threatening their world.

I’ll be writing from the perspective of the farm girl and the two foreign princes. It’s going to be fun! Next week, if you like, I can post up a picture of how I’ve filled it in the past week.

At some point, I should probably get some reading done, don’t you think? Miriam is waiting for my comments on Destroying and I’ve got the third Camilla Randall Mystery to tackle!

:} Cathryn Leigh

Loglines, Beats and the Board!

I’ve read three more chapters in “Save the Cat”, but before I get to them I’m going back to loglines. After all having one might make writing the story easier, since it lays out the plot. The funny thing is I’ve been working on my Phoenix Trilogy in parallel with my NaNovel2012, which we’ll call Trabia. I know it needs a better name, and according to Blake I should get one before I write the story, but I like working titles. Besides it’s short enough for simple file names. *grins*

Right so back to Loglines ... (no not lines made of logs... I wish it were that simple!)

Here’s what I got for My Phoenixes:

Sarah’s Phoenix: An independent young woman is ported to an old world society and must choose between stoking the hearth fire, or wearing pants to help her love stop a war.

Phoenix Rising: An independent woman wearing pants must prove her worthiness to her love’s superiors, if a war-mongering General doesn’t kill them first.

Phoenix Triumphant: Ready to settle down with her love, an independent woman is called upon to rescue the Princess in a covert operations, in the hopes of uniting two kingdoms.

And here’s what I got for Trabia. I wish it was one, but I’m waffling on what it will be. (Rough sketch by me of a young Magi's learning tools: Pouch, Mirror, Key and Book)

1.  A hardworking girl on the verge of womanhood discovers she’s a magi in the land of non-magi.
2.  A late blooming magi becomes the only hope of stopping a powerful magi’s undead army.
3.  A young Prince sets out to implore the help of his aunt, only to find her unexpected daughter instead.
4.  A young girl and her cousins must hone her skills, physical and magical, so that she can help defeat a powerful magi trying to take over the world
5.  Three teens must learn their weaknesses and strength to help thwart an evil magi trying to take over the world.

Unfortunately, I need to pin down my loglines (according to Blake) before I start on the beat sheet, which he suggests is best done on The Board – the Board being a story board broken into four lines (see below) with 40 scene cards split between them. I might be able to start doing that with my Phoenixes, once I figure out what kind of portable board I want to use.

Portable is key, because I work at my desk at home, on my lunch break at work and in libraries (loving the one I’m currently at – outside seating!).  However, the other key thing is that the scenes that you put on the board should be movable too, yet also able to stay where you put them. (And apparently if I had an iPhone, there’s an app for that) *eyeroll* (or I can buy the software)

And there you have it, my quest for this week – find a Board I can use for my plotting. So if you have any thoughts (Notepad and sticky notes maybe?) I’d appreciate them. Or even better, I’d LOVE, to hear your thoughts on my loglines. *grins*  Thanks.

:} Cathryn Leigh

Sarah Saves the Cat! I Think...

As mentioned in my last blog post, I was going to read Save the Cat! (The Last Book OnScreenwriting that You’ll Ever Need), which is by Blake Snyder. No, I’m not writing a screen play. Just because the book is about making movies doesn’t mean there isn’t something that can be taken away and used for books.

For instance, Catherine Ryan Hyde did a guest post on Anne R. Allen’s Blog on what can happen to a book when it’s turned into a screenplay. Reading Blake Snyder’s book explains why some of that happens. I’m not sure a lot of books follow his fifteen beat plot. But, apparently that’s what makes a movie successful. After all the audience wants their entertainment in short time frame.

Not to mention I’ve seen the book pop up on other blogs, or maybe it’s just that Roni Loren (steamy romance novelist) has mentioned it, a lot. So I ordered the book, it was delivered and I’ve read through chapter four. And what all has Blake been talking about in chapters 1 through 4? I’ll tell you, using My Phoenixes for my examples. *grins*

Chapter One is about the logline – that one line that you use to get people interested in your story. He suggests walking up to strangers and pitching your idea, but, I’m not quite sure I’m up to that sort of thing, so I’ll pitch it here. Unfortunately, it’s for the trilogy and focused on Sarah. If you have suggestions to improve it, I’ll gladly take them. 

• Logline: A war weary independent young woman finds herself in a medieval world helping her future husband save it from a warmongering General

Chapter Two is about Movie types – not necessarily genres, because each type can be made into any genre. What Blake is talking about are story lines. In a condensed format like a movie, you’re pretty much going to have one (I’m beginning to see how I could apply this to a short story). In a novel I suspect you might have more than one of his 10 types. I pined my trilogy down to three

• Phoenixes Blake Types: Dude with a Problem (there’s a war to avert), Buddy Love (the romance), and Institutionalized (the sacrifice of one for many, military mind set).

Chapter Three is whom the story is about and the Primal urges that connect it with the audience. In addition, there is an emphasis on growth of the protagonist. Someone once told me that Hasón was too perfect. They might be right. He has no growing to do, while Sarah has loads.

• It’s about a Guy Who:  Sarah’s a war weary, independent young woman. Hasón’s a staunch commander who follows his gut. Wholwaski is a conniving war mongering General.
• It’s Primal Elements Are:  Survival, Protection of Loved Ones, and Fear of Death

Chapter Four is about Blake Snyder’s beats. One story, split into Three Acts, that are broken down into a total of fifteen “beats”. Each one to be placed in the script at specific point for maximum effect. Let me summarize them in my words, as best I can.

1. Opening Image: Shows us where the hero begins, his life before the story happens
2. Theme Stated:  Someone states something that clues us into what the story’s theme is
3. Set-Up:  Where we meet everyone in the A Story, showing what needs fixing in the hero’s life
4. Catalyst:  The thing that turns the Hero’s world upside down and starts him on his journey
5. Debate:  The answer to the question of – can the hero handle what he’s been tasked with and how?
6. Break Into Two:  The hero takes the action that leads from his life onto the path of his new life
7. B Story:  It’s a break from what’s been going on and introduces new people to the hero
8. Fun and Games:  Slightly lighter in tone than the rest, it’s the fun part – the part that trailers take their clips from...
9. Midpoint:  Halfway through, the hero gets a small, or false full, victory though sometimes it can be a down as well as an up
10. Bad Guys Close In:  Everything begins to align against the hero as the bad guys close in for a win
11. All is Lost:  There is a whiff of death, be it metaphorical or actual, where it seems the hero has lost
12. Dark Night of the Soul:  This is how the losing affects the hero, how it manifests itself
13. Break Into Three:  But now the Hero has a solution taken from both the A story and B story
14. Finale:  The hero wins and his old world has  now completely transformed into his new world
15. Final Image:  A mirror image of the opening image, showing us how far the character has come

Art by Gabriel Morrison

I tried beating out Sarah’s Phoenix and found myself mixing it with Phoenix Rising – clearly a novel can have a lot more going on in it than a movie can – that’s why books are so often better. It’s also helped me realize that the story revolves very much around Sarah – after all it’s all from her viewpoint right now. But, I’m going to change that and Hasón is going to become less than perfect so the two of them can grow together.

At least that’s what I’m hoping.

But, for NaNo2012, I’ve decided to pick on ‘Lori and her Boys’. You’ll be hearing more about them as the march towards November continues!

:} Cathryn Leigh

Foibles of Plot Straightening

This weekend I finally did what I kept meaning to do (months ago). I upload my trilogy into Scrivener. Yes, they are now all in the “Book with Parts” template. I did this because I’ve become very aware that my plot needs work. Book 1 doesn’t really contribute much to the overall story and no one gets anywhere near death...

(Okay I do kill off one of Phoenix’s scouts and one of Griffon’s scouts, but Sarah didn’t witness it because she was out for the count. Still, it’s more romance than action/adventure while the other two are a much better mixture.)

Anyway, once I had the three books all in one place, I began to split apart the chapters. I did this for Book 1, since it has so few and then I went looking at Book 2. Splitting off the beginning of Book 2 and adding it to Book 1 does an amazing remedy for the lack luster plot. Now there’s a climactic fight scene, in which a villain dies after mortally wounding the Heroine. Of course I’ll need to edit it a bit, since it needs make you want to read the next book, not the next chapter.

So, I moved on to Book 2 and stopped to ponder something. No villain dies in this one, though our Heroes manage to save the Royal family. I read some place that a villain, even if he’s not the main boss, should die. So do I make up a villain to die in it, or make it seem like the villain is dying? Or leave it as is?  I’ll have to come back to that question later*, since the ideas is to get down what I have, not what I will have. I did decide that leaving the book off with our Heroes in a coma wasn’t nice, so I move some of the beginning bits from Book 3 over.

I haven’t started on Book 3 yet, aside from moving the beginning bit over, but I know one thing for sure; the climax doesn’t happen as close to the end as it should. There’s a lot of winding down the killing of the Master mind Villain to the marriage of our Heroes. I’m contemplating turning that into Bonus Book 4, for those who really want to see them happily wed and bed (and no I don’t go into details, thank you very much). *giggle*

One of the things I’ve suddenly realized. Having looked at all this – my Phoenixes of Vervell Trilogy need a lot of work. And I’m suddenly wondering:

• Should I consider them to be my practice novels and shelve them for eternity? (Be still my beating heart! Breathe my hyperventilating lungs!)
• Should I shelve them for now, until I’ve learned more about plot and structure? (But it’s already been at least five years since I wrote the first book!)

No matter what option I go with, and I lean toward the second for I love Sarah and Hasón and their tale, I’ve come to realize:

• I’ve gotten pretty good at creating characters. I’m not an expert, but the ones I have been working with for a while are living beings in my head.
• I could use a hand with plot and structure, perhaps with some practice in pre-plotting given how discombobulated last year’s NaNovel went. (Not that I’ve bothered to read it since then)

NaNo! Why that’s only four months away *gulp* and I plan on participating *double gulp* But I think I know what I’m going to do...

• Buy “Save the Cat” and read it – several people have said it’s great for helping pantsers plot
• Pick a story to plot - Alethia’s Lament? Rainbow Island? Another story off my hard drive? Something completely new? – yikes, this’ll be the hardest bit!
• Tell you all about it! (So erm... what would you like to know about my process leading up to NaNo?)

:} Cathryn

P.S. And what would you think if I slowed down my posting rate - this posting weekly is taking too much precious writing time at the moment. *sigh*

Two Days Late and ... 200 Dollars Short?

Tuesday marked the official end of my class with GothamWriters Workshop. I took the Creative Writing 101 class that lasted for six weeks. Our teacher was great and my fellow students were interesting, especially the ones who participated in the discussions. In fact, we might even form a writers group out of it. We’ll see. I already feel as though I’m in too many. But the question is:

Was it worth the money I paid for it?

Well, many of the lessons, echoed or were echoed by the recent book I bought, “My First Novel”, which I was reading while taking the class. A lot of it seemed to be stuff that I’ve been picking up by osmosis and practice. However, the lesson on show versus tell was a good one, especially the exercise that went with it.

I wrote about  (and shared) 
Princess Cristalina. I drew this
when I first imagined Rainbow
Island, back when I was 10.

In fact, I think the exercises were the best part. It was like Marc’s Daily Writing Practice blog, only done weekly and requiring more words (but no more than 500). Unlike the exercises in the book, there was a teacher on the other side, who gave encouraging feedback, while pointing out weaknesses. One of mine is that I’m not good at writing short stories. I might think I am writing one, but it always seems to turn into an excerpt form a novel.

As to the class structure, it worked out well. The class was conducted on-line, but rather than totally self paced, it had deadlines and discussion with the teacher following each lesson.  And I can now print the lessons, the discussions AND my work with teacher and student comments (you could share your last piece with whole class). Very useful to me since I didn’t take notes.

The virtual classroom also had a live chat feature. It wasn't used too much. Only two of us caught the teacher at one of the scheduled times (as far as I know). It’s just hard to coordinate a international group. Besides, our teacher was running  the class while nursing and infant, traveling, and getting so sick she had to be hospitalized (she’s better now, thank goodness).

 So was it worth it?

Yes, I think so. It wasn’t that much more than other classes I’ve heard about (it actually cost around $300 something). I also wanted to make sure I didn’t jump the gun and launch into one of Gotham’s genre specific classes without verifying I had the basics covered. Still, I might be able to get just as much form a slightly cheaper cost. I know a fellow NaNo Marylander is taking one soon. I'll be checking with her once it's over. 

Still Gotham does have a few things going for it:

• They call themselves Gotham and are located in the major metropolis of New York City, which gives them major cool points
• Their on-line class structure was very easy to navigate, even we didn't use the live chat much.
• The instructor was very nice and approachable (though I couldn't ask for clarification to her comments on my work)
• According to a classmate, if the teacher drops the ball they are willing to transfer you to a new class with a better teacher (that’s how she came to be a student in my class).
• They offer genre specific classes, as well as some geared towards the business side of publishing. (My plan is to take the Fantasy/Sci-Fi class next).
• Technical help was quick to respond to me and fix the issue I was having.

All in all, it was a good experience. So I’ll be back, if I have the funds for it. The family extracurricular activities are looking as though they may be a bit more expensive this coming school year.

  

:} Cathryn Leigh