Today is my mother's 93rd birthday and, as family and friends assemble, I steal this moment, desperate to imprint a lasting record of the love and learning that took place at last weekend's Perfect Your Plot Retreat hosted by SCBWI-Central Coastal California at the Mission in Santa Barbara. Already, the book launch for The Plot Whisperer Book of Writing Prompts: Easy Exercises to Get You Writing has blurred the edges.
Lasting impressions:
The event was unique for a multitude of reasons, mostly created by each individual writer who took part -- the exact right combination.
A personal first was thanks to Alexis O'Neill's wisdom and generosity in making recommended reading The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master and then providing each writer at registration a copy of The Plot Whisperer Workbook: Step-by-Step Exercises to Help You Create Compelling Stories.
I strive never to forget the pure joy of pushing off from a shared foundation of plot concepts and an acceptance of my point of view into a deeper understanding of plot and structure. Lots of the writers had watched the free tutorial on Plot Whisperer Youtube channel and seemed to feel safe with me and my approach. That most everyone was a SCBWI member, the writers also felt safe with each other.
Everyone was so darned earnest and eager to give the plot concepts and templates a try. Watching writers complete the assigned exercises directly into their new PWWorkbooks was a dream manifest. One writer confessed to not feeling as rebellious as she normally would when presented with such a linear and organized approach because of the consistent reassurance that there are no rules or passing or failing. Simply the attempt of viewing one's story at the plot and structure level alone is enough.
The praise and kindnesses choke me even now and come at a critical time as I open to receive the vision of where I go with my teaching and writing now in Lucky '13.
Knowing what to write where in a story with a plot allows for a more loving relationship with your writing. Whether writing a first draft or revising, if you falter wondering what comes next in a story with a plot, follow the prompts in The Plot Whisperer Book of Writing Prompts: Easy Exercises to Get You Writing.
Today, I write.
To familiarize yourself with the basic plot terms used here and in the PW Book of Prompts:
1) Watch the plot playlists on the Plot Whisperer Youtube channel.
2) Read The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master
3) Fill out the exercises in The Plot Whisperer Workbook: Step-by-Step Exercises to Help You Create Compelling Stories
4) Visit:
Blockbuster Plots for Writers
Plot Whisperer on Facebook
Plot Whisperer on Twitter