Thanks I get from writers for the Plot Series: How Do I Plot a Novel, Memoir, Screenplay? is an added gift.
I did the vlog (which I later learned means a video blog) on a lark with my friend Cathy Cress , fiction writer and expert on the aging family and sibling warfare. My vlogs are on plot for writers. Cathy's vlogs Mom Loves You Best - Forgiveness are on sibling reconciliation and forgiveness which grew out of her own life, her writing and her lifelong work. While I filmed her, I was struck how writers could benefit from the juicy and touching and horrific sibling stories she relates for creating more realistic familial back-stories and antagonists in stories and also for tips on how to heal your own personal sibling back-story.
I brought up the idea of creating vlogs. Sight unseen, no explanations needed, Cathy was in. Cathy's latest book: Mom Loves You Best - Forgiveness was just released. The month before I had met my soon-to-be agent at a writers retreat where I was teaching plot and she was teaching about voice and being her -- a high-energy light. Jill Corcoran of the Herman Agency loves my plot teaching. I love everything about her.
I brought up the idea of creating vlogs. Sight unseen, no explanations needed, Cathy was in. Cathy's latest book: Mom Loves You Best - Forgiveness was just released. The month before I had met my soon-to-be agent at a writers retreat where I was teaching plot and she was teaching about voice and being her -- a high-energy light. Jill Corcoran of the Herman Agency loves my plot teaching. I love everything about her.
Cathy's and my spontaneity and rookie filming is evidenced in the first video -- Step One: How Do I Plot the Dramatic Action Plot. If either Cathy or I had heard LingLing (the dog barking) we would have stopped filming and opened the gate. I heard nothing, not even the sound of my own voice or what I was saying. We followed outlines on giant Post-It Notes -- Cathy's amazingly plotted out. Mine more by the seat of your pants.
The series evolved from our own gardens to using cool local landmarks as backdrops on Step Five: How Do I Plot the Three Major Plot-lines in a Novel, Memoir, Screenplay.
By Step Ten: How Do I Plot the the Beginning of a Novel, Memoir, Screenplay. the
4 Comments on The Evolution a Book -- Part One: The Vlog, last added: 8/2/2011
Display Comments
Add a Comment
By: Martha Alderson, M.A.,
on 7/22/2011
Blog: Plot Whisperer for Writers and Readers (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: directory for youtube user/marthaalderson Plot Series: How Do I Plot a Novel, a memoirs and screenplays, character transformation and the Universal Story, Add a tag
Often, the writers who excel in conveying just the right details in a scene or depth of emotion through subtle body language during dialogue have a strength in visual perception and visual memory.
Judging from the number of writers who have commented on the fact that I wear red (one of the brand colors of BBP) in all the videos on my Plot Series vlog where I address plot issues in the Beginning and the Middle of novels, memoirs, and screenplays, I take heart that their stories resonate with subtle thematic clues.
A much smaller number of writers have noted the switch from red to purple in the videos pertaining to plotting the End of a story (to show the outward change signifying the character's ultimate transformation in the Universal Story).
Writers have a tendency to get stuck in their heads, focus on themselves, and look inward rather than outward. They obsess about the stories they write to the point that they often miss the details of the world around them.
Close your eyes. How many objects in the room you are sitting in can you describe in detail?
Pull yourself out of a conversation you are having with another person and watch the interchange, as if watching a movie.
Memorize the words the other person speaks. Note what she holds back and how she conveys meaning through nonverbal communication.
Recount the last conversation you had. What did the other person say? Your answers, or lack thereof, may surprise you.
Look at the details that surround you. What do they convey about where you are on your writer’s journey?
What can you let go of, both tangible and intangible, to move nearer to who you dream of being?
Whenever you are not writing, pay attention to the world around you and what others are saying. Jot down notes in your journal that you carry with you everywhere. Tune into the details of the natural world. The practice gets you out of your head and produces gems for the theme, mood, and nuance of your story.
Most of a writer’s genius comes in the art of the finesse. How finely you craft your project before you let it go is up to each individual writer.
2 Comments on Details, Transformation, and The Universal Story, last added: 7/25/2011
Display Comments
Add a Comment
By: Martha Alderson, M.A.,
on 2/24/2011
Blog: Plot Whisperer for Writers and Readers (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: story-telling, the universal story plan, plot points, and screenplay, directory for youtube user/marthaalderson Plot Series: How Do I Plot a Novel, Memoir, Add a tag
To the right of this post is a list of the 22 Steps in the Plot Series: How do I Plot a Novel, Memoir and Screenplay? (a few more coming soon complete the series)
Now that I posted the directory of the YouTube series, I wish I started the list with the last one and encourage you work your way forward. Perhaps this will work as a strategy for the writer who never reaches the end, finishes, accomplishes her goals. Perhaps beginning at the end will help you stay true to the cause of writing your story.
Whether by conventional means and you begin at Step One or the unconventional way of beginning at Step 22, my intention is to provide you with a series of videos to guide you step-by-step through the plot elements that create a pleasing form, one that mirrors the universal story.
Plot Series: How Do I Plot a Novel, Memoir, Screenplay? is playing on my YouTube channel. Currently, there are 22 steps. A directory of the program is to your right. Each link takes you to a video that explains that particular plot concept about the universal story.
Benefits of watching the Plot Series:
1) Become a better writer
2) Play along on The Santa Cruz Traveling Mystery Tour and win a free plot consultation with me
Enjoy!
5 Comments on Directory for Plot Series, last added: 2/28/2011
Display Comments
Add a Comment
interesting thoughts
I'm so glad Ms. Corcoran had a link on her website that allowed me to find your amazing vlogs! Great advice! I loved them so much that by the end I was desperate for more and purchased the Scene Tracker Kit and the Revision eBook (which I'm downloading now).
Thank you for all your hard work and for sharing your knowledge with the rest of us!
Thank you for reading the post, write my essay.
Your kind words fill me with joy, Joan. Thank you!
Sounds like you've got yourself some hard work ahead of you.
Enjoy and happy plotting.
Thanks again